Letting God Into Every Room of Your Heart
When you become a Christian, something truly amazing happens: God comes to live inside your heart. You become the home of God.
First Corinthians 6:19 says it this way: Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? (AMP)
One of the things I love most about being at home is that I'm comfortable there. And since we are the home of Christ, we need to make sure He's comfortable in us.
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We need to do it because we love Him, honor Him and adore Him. Because if He's not comfortable, then we can't be comfortable. Do you ever experience a discomfort in your spirit? If so, ask yourself: Is there something in my life that's making God uncomfortable?
If we're going to really live the Christian life, we need to decide to surrender all of our heart and let God have access to every room in our "house." And when God asks us to surrender the things in the rooms of our heart, we need to get excited, because something greater is coming.
We need to say, "God, I give You free reign because I know You are good and You love me and wouldn't ask me to give up something if it wasn't for my benefit." Jesus paid a tremendous price for us to have a joyful, peaceful life and He doesn't want to see us miserable.
Here are some "rooms" we may need to give Him access to:
The Study or the Library: Your Mind. What kind of things do you think about? The more you think of something, the more it becomes a part of you. In fact, your thoughts set the course for your life. God knows what we're thinking, so let's focus on things that He wants us to think-things that are noble, pure, trustworthy, admirable…(see Philippians 4:8). And remember, you can choose what you think about. So when the devil tries to interject thoughts in your mind, you don't have to just take them.
Dining Room: Our Desires. We need to come to the point where we can say "God, I only want what You want, and if I'm asking for something You don't want me to have, then don't give it to me." Our desires can cause the biggest problems in our life-especially when someone else gets something we want. But God wants us to be happy for others when they are blessed and trust that He'll do what is best for us at the right time.
The Living or Family Room: Your Friends. Who are your friends? What do you talk about when you're with your friends? I'm talking here about the people you spend your time with and those you open your heart to. Does your conversation put a smile on God's face…or does it grieve Him? Get together with people who love the Word of God and be creative with how you help others. Because there's one thing for sure: when you get your mind off yourself and focus on blessing someone else, you'll get happier than you've ever been!
The Workroom: Your Legacy. Are you bearing good fruit…or are you just taking up space? I encourage you to work with excellence and integrity. When you choose not to gossip at work, waste company time or participate in things that wouldn't please Him, then you honor God. And when you honor God, then He will honor you. Remember: We need to do what's right because it's right, even when no one's looking…because God is always with us.
Recreation Room: Your Entertainment. Do you let God decide what movies you watch, the music you listen to or the things you read? There is nothing wrong with having a good time, but our choices also need to honor Him. Likewise, we have to be careful about how much time we devote to entertainment. When it takes a stronger priority in our life than it should, there's a problem. It's not that you can't have any fun; you just need to choose what is best for you and is pleasing to God.
The Hall, Closet, Attic, Garage or Basement: Hidden Things. This is where we hide all those things we don't think we'll use again, but we hold on to them just in case…things like self-pity or unforgiveness. God dealt strongly with me about self-pity. But even after I officially gave it up, I put it somewhere in that back closet of my life just in case I wanted to have just one more pity party. How about getting rid of everything that's not pleasing to God?
Only with God's Help
What are you holding on to that needs to go? You can't do any of it without God. Ask Him to help you get rid of everything in the rooms of your life that aren't pleasing to Him. If you do it in God's timing and by His grace, it'll be so much easier. If you try to do it on your own, you'll be frustrated and miserable with your striving.
Jesus is a divine guest inside of you all the time-one who loves, understands, sees and hears you. He wants to live in oneness with you…to be the centerpiece of everything you do. But, ultimately, the choice is up to you. Will you make Him welcome in every room of your house?
Some of the above content is based on My Heart…Christ's Home by Robert Boyd Munger.
