Are You Sealed and Filled With Hope? Reframed

I am weakness full of weakness
At Thy sacred feet I bow
Blest divine eternal Spirit
Fill with pow’r and fill me now

Fill Me Now 1879
By: Elwood H. Stokes (1815-1897)

Listen to this modern version of this classic hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the podcast below.

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Everyone enjoy this podcast and transcript below!  It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures and reflections shared.

Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.

As we continue our journey through this penitent text and hymn, make each stanza your own by praying through it. Let’s think about this.

Sealed

Us

• Weakness
• Full of weakness
• Bowed down

The Spirit

• Blest
• Divine
• Eternal

Our great need creates the perfect contrast to put the power of our God on display. He is so different from us and this stanza shows that very clearly. Still, our fate is intrinsically connected to His person and work.

The Spirit is the One who reveals the truth, and imparts with to us. He seals us, and guarantees our inheritance. He even empowers our praise.

A key part of that work is his sealing us. A seal on a letter had two important functions in ancient times. It verified who the sender was which is very important. It also proved that there had been no tampering with the content ensuring it remained intact from the sender.

The Spirit does this remarkable work in us. He verifies that we being to God. He also proves that there has been no tampering with us, but that we arrive at our location in the condition He intended. He has the authority to do that because of who He is.

Blest divine eternal Spirit

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14 ESV

He is blessed and blesses us by sealing us as a guarantee of our eternal inheritance from God. Give praise to the Spirit for helping you believe and then sealing your faith.

The Spirit is also eternal, and divine. He always was and always will be. He is God, plain and simple. He is also holy, without fault or blemish. These characteristics put Him in a position to bless us. Declare to the Spirit you believe His is eternal, divine and blest.

RESONATE!
Our faith does not permit God to do His work in us, but it does position us to receive that work. We need it as we have confessed in the earlier part of this stanza. Acknowledge that you believe the Holy Spirit is the One who can do that work in you and prepare yourself to receive it today.

The Sealer

If we are to be sealed then the Holy Spirit will do the sealing. If we are to be filled then he Holy Spirit will do the filling. Those these are two very different illustrations both very clearly bear the marks of the Holy Spirit.

When wax is going to be sealed on a letter it must first be melted. As it drips onto the envelope it is soft and ready to receive the pressure of the seal. The same thing happens in our spiritual lives. The heat is turned up and we are prepared to receive the indelible impression of the Spirit.

When a vessel is going to be filled it must first be emptied. As it is emptied it is ready to receive the substance that will fill it. The same thing happens in our spiritual lives. We are emptied and prepared to receive the holy habitation of the Spirit.

To be melted and emptied are certainly not pleasant experiences but what can come afterwards can prove extremely useful. Confessing we are weakness and full of weakness is similarly not a pleasant experience either, however, it does prepare us to be full of power instead. That is very useful.

When we are melted or emptied in can be a pretty terrible feeling. The melting prepares us to be shaped and sealed. The emptying prepares us to be fill. When those things happen we are filled with hope. But we must continue to learn the discipline of hoping even as we wait on the filling.

Fill with pow’r and fill me now

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13ESV

He fills us with His power and from that power ushers belief. When we believe, God brings joy, peace and hope abundantly into our lives. Without His filling none of that would be possible. Ask for that filling again today and every day until you see Him face to face.

He empowers us to reflect God with our lives and deflect glory to Him. This is miraculous when you consider we start out full of weakness and is another expression of His incredible work in us. Only with His power could that work occur.

RESONATE!
Do you feel melted or emptied? Maybe God is preparing you to receive His hope. Maybe He is readying you for something else. Ask Him to fill you with His Spirit again today and the hope that flows from that filling. Pray simply, “Spirit, fill with power and fill me now”.

Spirit, thank You for revealing how weak I was, and not leaving me there. You revealed Your power to me and then made it clear how You wanted to fill me with the power. Thank You Spirit. In Jesus name. Amen.

Sealed Thinking!

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Image Attribution
Blest divine eternal Spirit – https://pixabay.com/vectors/seal-ancient-badge-wax-emblem-152801/
Fill with pow’r and fill me now – https://pixabay.com/vectors/buffer-seal-office-281337/