Make it Count
Scripture:
“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
—Ephesians 5:15–20 (NLT)
The days are evil. Paul doesn’t soften it or qualify it. He just says it. And if you’ve been paying attention to the world around you, you know he’s right. But here’s what’s remarkable: that’s exactly the context in which He calls us to make the most of every opportunity. Not in spite of the darkness, but because of it. Light means something in a dark room. And how you live, the way you show up, the choices you make, the presence you carry into an ordinary Tuesday, all of it matters more than you might think.
Paul makes a striking contrast: don’t be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit. It might seem like an odd comparison at first, but the point is clear. When someone is drunk, they’re under the influence of something outside themselves. It shapes how they think, how they speak, how they act. Paul’s question is not whether you’re being influenced by something, it’s what that something is. Because something always is. What is shaping your decisions right now? What is driving your responses, your priorities, your pace? And is it the Spirit of God, or is it something far less worthy of that kind of power over your life?
“When we have the Holy Spirit we have all that is needed to be all that God desires us to be.” — A.W. Tozer¹
The Greek word Paul uses for “be filled” is in the present tense, which means this isn’t a one-time event. It’s a daily posture. A daily surrender. A daily coming back to God and saying, “I need You today.” Jesus Himself promised that the Father would give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. So it starts there, with asking. With opening your hands instead of clenching your fists. We don’t earn the filling of the Spirit, we receive it. And as we receive it, we begin to live with a strength, a wisdom, and a joy that no amount of effort or willpower could manufacture on its own.
That’s what it means to make it count. Not striving harder, but surrendering deeper. Not doing more, but being filled by the One who makes everything you do matter. The Kingdom of God can come in and through you as you walk in step with His Spirit. Every conversation, every ordinary moment, every room you walk into is an opportunity to carry His presence there. You were made by God and for God, and He has purposes for this specific day of your life that only a Spirit-led version of you can fulfill. So don’t drift through it. Ask Him to fill you, and then go make it count.
Reflection:
1. Are there areas of your life where you’ve been drifting rather than living with intention? What would it look like to change that?
2. What is currently influencing your thoughts and decisions more than the Spirit of God? What needs to change?
3. When you think about the ordinary moments of your day, do you see them as opportunities to carry the presence of the Kingdom? What would it look like to live that way today?
Prayer:
Ask the Lord to open your eyes to the opportunities He has placed in front of you today. Surrender any areas where you’ve been running on empty or looking to lesser things to fill you. Invite the Holy Spirit to lead you and fill you afresh.
Footnote:
¹ A.W. Tozer, Tozer on the Holy Spirit: A 365-Day Devotional (Chicago: Moody Publishers).