Filled Up

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry."
Luke 4:1&2 

One of the greatest things we can learn as Christians is found in the scripture above. I love the fact that we do not face anything that God himself, in the person of Jesus, has not faced. This scripture takes place just before Jesus was released into full time ministry. He had been baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. At that point, the Holy Spirit descended and Jesus was filled. This was absolutely critical before he could be released to do the miraculous things he did. The same is true of us. We must be full of the Holy Spirit as we go about the work of the kingdom here on earth.
    I have run across many people who say that they have been filled with the Holy Spirit. These good Pentecostal folks are usually referring to a time when they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. I believe fully in this experience and its importance to live an empowered Christian life. But walking in the fullness of the Holy Spirit is different than having an experience and then proclaiming that one is filled. It is a daily choice to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We have to submit to him and his leading. We have to abandon anything else that may be considered more important. We must know that what counts is a life that is literally so full of the Holy Spirit that he will spill over into the world in which we live. Jesus was filled the day he was baptized in water, but he continued to walk in that fullness and it equipped him to face the onslaught of the enemy against him and the struggles of daily life. 
    Another key phrase in the scripture above is this: "(He) was led by the Spirit in the desert." Not only was Jesus full of the Holy Spirit, but he chose to be led by him. I also notice that it does not say that he was led INTO the desert, it says he was led IN the desert. All of us will face desert experiences. We walk in the desert all the time. The world is a desert. It has little that can sustain us or provide for us. The way we will be victorious in the desert is to allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit. No matter what we face, we will be empowered to overcome. Jesus provided the example. He walked before us, so we follow what we see him do. 
    I can't emphasize how important this is to us. Just having the Holy Spirit within us is not enough.. Victory comes when we are so full of him that it spills out of us. It comes when we are led by him so much that every step is a yielding to what he has told us to do. This is true Christian living. This is abundant life in Christ. I want to walk in the fullness and leading of the Holy Spirit every moment of every day. This is how Jesus lived. Let's live being completely full of the Spirit of God.