As another Thanksgiving comes and goes, many of us experienced a full weekend – family, friends, football…and extra pieces of pumpkin pie!
As sports fans, we continue to have our days filled with intriguing games vying for our attention in almost every sport.
We just had college football rivalry games on Saturday with Conference Championship week upon us, along with full slates of NFL matchups, college basketball tournaments, and the NBA and NHL's regular season.
The results from the games over the weekend have also left certain fan bases full of different emotions and thoughts.
Ohio State fans are full of disbelief and frustration after they lost to Michigan again.
Clemson fans are full of disappointment that they lost to South Carolina but also full of gratitude because, thanks to Syracuse's win over Miami, the Tigers are heading to the ACC Championship game.
Georgia fans are full of concern and relief after pulling out the win in the 8th overtime against Georgia Tech.
Buffalo Bills fans are full of cautious optimism that this year is different after another huge win last night in the snow.
Carolina Panthers fans are full of hope as Bryce Young and the team are playing much better.
I could go on and on, but the word "full" summarizes this time of year in life and sports. The holiday season leaves our schedules full of activities, traditions, and events. We become filled with many thoughts and emotions as well.
So, as our sports calendar is full and our plate is full of pie and cookies, what else fills our lives, minds, and hearts?
Are we full of stress, worry, and fear, or are we filled with joy and peace? Are we full of ourselves or filled with humility? Is our mind full of negative thoughts or filled with hopeful ones?
Are we full of anger and bitterness or filled with compassion and grace? Are our lives filled with deep relationships, meaningful fellowship, and sacrifice to others or full of self-seeking pleasures, surface-level acquaintances, and worldly pursuits?
Ultimately, we must consider whether our lives are full of God. Are we filling ourselves with the things of God and, more importantly, of Himself? Are we living Spirit-filled lives or too busy filling ourselves with everything else the world offers?
When we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, He enters our hearts and lives and fills our souls. But we often forget that this fullness of love, power, and goodness is within us.
Colossians 2:9-10 (TLB) tells us, "For in Christ there is all of God in a human body; so you have everything when you have Christ, and you are filled with God through your union with Christ. He is the highest Ruler, with authority over every other power."
In Ephesians 3:16-19 (AMP), the apostle Paul tells the people how he prays for them to fully experience God's power and love. We can pray this for ourselves and others: "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, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith.
"And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, 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]; 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]."
While proceeding into our full holiday season and sports calendar, let's recognize God's presence and fully experience His unending love each step of the way.
God's fullness is found in Jesus, and when Jesus lives within us, we have access to the fullness of God. Today, let's embrace that reality so our lives will be full of meaning, purpose, joy, love, hope, and peace.
I'm Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to earth to die on the cross on my behalf. I acknowledge that Jesus is my Savior who resides in me, and it is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me. Please help me understand the depth of Your love to the best of my ability and empower me to live a Spirit-filled life. I desire to be full of You instead of being full of myself. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
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