Getting Drunk

Ephesians 5:15-21

8 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit...

Confession: I love wine. I don't think I've ever tasted a wine that I didn't like.

I don't get drunk with wine, but there was a time when I did (well not wine, but similar things.) Today, after one glass or two, I know that's it. Limit reached. No more. God has graciously taken away the screaming voice inside my head telling me I need more. But there is still a whisper. I have to exercise self-control every time because I know that it is best for me. I know that one more glass will not bring the joy that it promises, in fact it will bring the opposite, guilt and misery. Over indulgence in alcohol is at the center of so many bad memories and regrets in my past.

But what I meant for evil, God meant for good! (Gen 50:20) Because of my past, when I read this passage today I am intimately familiar with the deep desire for the good feeling that comes with too much wine. I also know that the good feeling only lasts for a little while, usually followed by thoughts or acts that bring destruction and depression. Isn't it interesting that alcohol can make you feel so good for a short time, when it is really a depressant? It actually brings you down. Maybe God did that on purpose. To me, alcohol is symbolic of everything that this world has to offer. It promises happiness and fulfillment, fun and excitement, and what it truly brings is misery and emptiness, death and destruction.

I love it that God, through Paul, uses this comparison here. Do not be drunk with wine, be filled with the Spirit. It is proof that God uses His commands not only for His glory, but for our joy. The wine brings empty promises, but the Spirit brings that life that we are longing for when we go after the wine! The Lord doesn't want us to be satisfied with just wine, that's a sissy drink! Sure, wine is enjoyable when taken in moderation, and I believe that He gave it to us as a gift, to "gladden" our hearts (Psalm 104:15). But, as with all of His gifts, it serves to point us to the giver. He invites us to come over and drink the real thing, the drink of the King.

So, where can I find this drink? How can I be drunk (filled) with the Spirit? Easy. How do I get drunk with wine? Drink it. Drink a lot of it! Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit... (John 7:37-39)

To drink of the Living Water we need to pick up the bottle (the Bible!) And because this drink (the Spirit) does not submit to us as a bottle does, but goes wherever He pleases... we also need to pray for it!

With wine, I feel the desire, but I have to exercise restraint. With the Spirit, the Lord says, drink freely, drink often, drink much! What a freedom! The one thing in life that will deliver what it promises and I am allowed to get drunk on it!

"Lord, teach my heart not to be satisfied with what this world has to offer. There is so much more! You have given us life-giving water, and so many times I refuse to drink! If you set a bottle of good wine before me and told me to drink, I doubt that I would hesitate. How childish are my desires. Teach me to have "child-like" desires instead. Give me the child-like faith that believes you when you say that if I drink of your water I will never be thirsty again!"