At the end of April, we celebrated our daughter, Lauren’s bridal shower. It was a joyous occasion with so many of our favorite women gathered together in one place. We are thankful to these women who have greatly impacted her life over the years and have been such a positive influence. So many emotions flooded my thoughts as I tried to prepare for this day from the time she was a little girl. Never realizing just how fast time goes until you are faced with the reality of the day and you look back and recall the time spent praying, playing and pouring into her life. It is a blink of an eye. The day was here and I desired to pray a blessing over her. As I thought about what I wanted to pass onto her in a few short words before our guests, the depths of Ephesians 3:19, which I had prayed for her over the years, flowed from my heart…and that you would know the love of Christ surpasses all knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God .
Actually, it is the whole prayer from Ephesians 3:14-20 (AMP):
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
- 16 May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self,
- 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love,
- 18 be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love];
- 19 and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].
- 20 Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us,
The fullness of God comes when you continually pursue Him and allow Christ to occupy your heart by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which occupies your innermost being and personality. You will begin to have confidence and security in His love for you.
Sometimes we become a little stale or dry in this area, and all we need to do, is just ask God for more…
Ask Him to fill you up.
Ask Him to increase your love for Him
Ask Him to teach you His ways.
Ask Him for more faith.
Ask Him for more of the Holy Spirit filling. (Luke 11:13)
As you become more rooted in Him, you will display more fruit and the fullness He displays in your life through your character: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)
So how do you and I fill up on Jesus?
Good question. I will try to answer this for you through 3 steps to greater fulfillment.
3 Steps to Fulfillment
- Empty yourself daily of your old self, sins and anything that hinders you from living in the fullness of God.
James 4:10 Humble yourself in the presence the Lord and He will exalt you.
2. Grow in Christ. The more you seek the Lord and study His precepts, the more you will grow in Him. Yes, this will take work on our part, but just like planting a beautiful flower garden, you need to till, fertilize, water and tend to it for a beautiful result. You need to allow the Lord to till and fertilize your heart, water your soul and tend to your needs.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
3. Receive help from others. God will bring others into your life for a reason, a season and for a lifetime. Embrace your family and friends and allow them to richly pour into your life: emotionally, spiritually and physically. You are not meant to do life alone, but together.
Proverbs 27:17 (AMP) As iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens [and influences] another.
God so wants to be your all-in-all. He wants to fulfill you from the bottom of your toes to the top of your head. But, He won’t push His way in unless you hear His voice, open the door and then He will come in and dine with you. (Revelation 3:20)
Then watch Him do far more above and beyond what you could ever imagine or think.
Journeying with Him,