A Welcome Home
Suppose the Lord made a surprise visit to your house…
Would you feel embarrassed by the condition of your home? Or would you be happy to have Him there despite the imperfections and messy areas?
Many years ago, my mom and a friend of hers dropped by for a visit (one I was expecting). Immediately upon letting them in, I began making apologies and excuses for this or that I thought were wrong with my home. My mom’s friend responded boldly with: “Girl, if it was perfect I’d feel like I was in a showroom, not a home.”
I’ve never forgotten that. She made me feel at ease, taking my eyes off of what wasn’t important, and helped me relax and enjoy our visit.
Did you know this is how the Lord wants you to feel?
In Psalm 139, the writer realizes there’s no place we can go, high or low, to get away from the Presence of God. And then the realization hits that God not only knows our comings and goings, but He knows us inside and out.
And listen to the revelation God gave him:
“I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well” (Psalm 139:14).
In other words, why would you need to feel ashamed about what you are not?
God shaped you and me first inside, then out. And when we invited Him, He CHOSE to make our heart His home. I realize now that when I feel inferior or ashamed, it’s usually due to my “decorating.” What I mean is, maybe there are some things in my “home” (heart) that are inappropriate for the Lord and need to be taken down–such as ugly thoughts, fear, or strife.
But if things are a little messy or cluttered because of the demands of LIFE, instead of feeling inferior at the thought of God being a visitor in your home (searching and knowing all about you), you need to remember He’s not a visitor! He’s a resident. He lives there too.
He’s not a visitor! He’s a resident. He lives there too.
When my husband comes home from work, I don’t make the same comment to him as I did to my mom’s friend. Why? Because this is his home too and he feels quite comfortable in it. And he helps me keep our home full of peace and love and everything else needed to feel relaxed and at ease.
My point today is this: God knows when you’re sitting down and when you’re rising up (Psalm 139:2). There’s nothing hidden from His sight. You are just deceiving yourself if you think He expects a showroom of perfection–He doesn’t. But He also doesn’t want us living in a pigsty so He gave us His Word and His Spirit to help us identify areas that need attention.
I remember one time my son came home from spending the night with a friend and said, “Mom, they had so much stuff piled up, it was almost taller than me and there were little paths to get around it all. I could never live like that!” On the one hand, I’m glad my son recognized the importance of a clutter-free house (and life) but what he was too young to know at the time is that houses and lives don’t get that way overnight. It’s the ignored items that grow and expand over time. And this is why we should never ignore the nudging of the Holy Spirit.
God chose to make your heart His home for a reason.
He loves you. He doesn’t expect perfection but He doesn’t want you living in chaos either! Let Him help you.
This article was written by Daphne Delay who is an author, speaker, and podcaster with a passion to help this generation discover who they are in Christ. She is the author of Facing the Mirror, Facing the Enemy, and Facing God. Daphne also blogs nuggets of spiritual growth and encouragement regularly at daphnedelay.com