Making Room for God
Building Onto the House!
Psalms 63:1 “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.”
Lately, I’ve been giving thought to adding onto my house. No, not our physical home. Especially in our nation, we are constantly given to redecorating, restructuring, and adding onto our homes. We often find ourselves in a continual state of discontent: the curtains aren’t the right length, the pictures just don’t compliment the furniture, the pillows on the sofa just aren’t the right texture and hue.
Essentially, we expend our energy in areas unimportant to our future; in fact, I doubt anyone will recall, be concerned with, or be impacted by the choice of the rugs in my living room one hundred years from now.
Instead, I’m talking about the temple spoken of in I Corinthians 6: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
Today–every day–I want to expand the house of God inside of me. Why? Because, although no one in the next century will know about this morning’s devotion between me and God, the time I spend will make me available to those in need. If I can win one soul who impacts their family, there might be an entire lineage brought to the Lord because of this one devotional time. I can impact the future–even a future I will never see.
I am reminded of King David, who wrote, “I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, Until I find out a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob” (Ps. 132:4-5). While indeed King David spoke of his preparations for the building of the Hebrew temple, this sentiment must be paralleled in our day-to-day lives.
We make so much room for the things of this world: eight hours each day for work, eight hours each night for sleep, three hours daily to eat, so many hours for socialization and play. If we likened these time slots to rooms in the house of our heart, what would they look like. The workroom would, of necessity, be large as would that for sleep. I wonder, would the space allocated for God be a nice parlor or would it be the broom closet….or would it be visible at all?
Looking at the parable of the sower, we find several instances where the good seed met with destruction. One scenario in Luke 8 tells of the seed that “fell among thorns … and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it” (Luke 8:7). Thorns are not always readily apparent. Thorns ordinarily accompany beautiful roses, whose beauty often hides the thorns that come along with them. Our careers, our families, our homes are all blessings from the Lord… but at the same time, we must realize that each comes with its own price. We must make certain that the time spent with these blessings does not take us from the blesser himself. Don’t let your time for God be choked.
Not only must we make time for God in our day, but He needs to be in every decision we make. Psalms 37:5, “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 admonishes us, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” He cannot direct our paths if we don’t take time to seek his guidance before our decisions. I currently work in sales; although the sales of my company are not important to the work of God, they do support our family. Therefore, before I ever call businesses or potential customers, I pray over my leads, asking God’s will. Also, you never know how many people we will reach in the line of work for the Lord.
Making room for God in our lives also clears room for the miraculous!
On a side note–but equally important note–we must make room for the messenger of God in our lives. I am reminded of the Shunamite woman in II Kings 4. It was the time of Elisha’s ministry and he travelled far and wide, meeting the needs of the people.
II Kings 4:8-10 tells us of the building project of the Shunamite woman: “And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.”
Indeed, the man of God found this woman’s home to be a place of rest and renewal as she fed him and allotted him a home. As a prophet, he did not have a home to call his own; this was the closest he ever came to ‘being home.’ Later, we find that her generosity paved the way for her miracle. Not only was her barren womb opened that she could conceive a son, but when he fell in death, God used this man of God to revive him.
There are three important elements we must learn:
1. We need to welcome the man of God to speak into our life. Having a room for the prophet and feeding him, the Shunamite woman opened herself up to him. He saw how she lived and could communicate with her. In opening her home, she had opened her heart to the messenger of God.
2. We must create a place for the man of God to rest. Often, our pastors not only study the word and pray for the church but too many times they are also the ones cleaning the church, mowing the lawn, fixing the plumbing, doing all the outreach. However, the pastor is our shepherd and we are the sheep. Bringing souls into the kingdom is likened to giving birth. Have you ever seen a shepherd give birth to a lamb? No, it doesn’t happen. Sheep beget sheep. We are to be busy about the harvest as the shepherd guides and protects us. He is to be given to the study of the Word of God and prayer.
We see this precept established by the disciples in Acts 6, where they began to delegate work within the church to the laity: “And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.”
If we want to be fed by our shepherds, we must free them for study and communion with God. That means taking on some of their lesser responsibilities, thereby freeing them to minister. I Timothy 5:18 bespeaks this concept but also admonishes us to make certain our pastors are taken care of financially so that their attentions remain undivided: “thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.” Notice, the Shunamite woman gave the man of God bread and also rest.
3. Finally, the Shunamite woman’s actions opened her up to the moving of the miraculous in her life. When we make room for the man of God, God is able to move in our lives.
Before you finish your day today, give thought to how much room you have made available for God and for God’s messenger in your life. We’ve often heard the idiom, ‘you get what you give.’ It is certainly a godly principle. I encourage you, make room for God today!
Do you have a prayer room in your home or even a prayer corner? What would your ideal be like?
Lately, I’ve been giving thought to adding onto my house. No, not our physical home. Especially in our nation, we are constantly given to redecorating, restructuring, and adding onto our homes. We often find ourselves in a continual state of discontent: the curtains aren’t the right length, the pictures just don’t compliment the furniture, the pillows on the sofa just aren’t the right texture and hue.
Essentially, we expend our energy in areas unimportant to our future; in fact, I doubt anyone will recall, be concerned with, or be impacted by the choice of the rugs in my living room one hundred years from now.
Instead, I’m talking about the temple spoken of in I Corinthians 6: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
Today–every day–I want to expand the house of God inside of me. Why? Because, although no one in the next century will know about this morning’s devotion between me and God, the time I spend will make me available to those in need. If I can win one soul who impacts their family, there might be an entire lineage brought to the Lord because of this one devotional time. I can impact the future–even a future I will never see.
I am reminded of King David, who wrote, “I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, Until I find out a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob” (Ps. 132:4-5). While indeed King David spoke of his preparations for the building of the Hebrew temple, this sentiment must be paralleled in our day-to-day lives.
We make so much room for the things of this world: eight hours each day for work, eight hours each night for sleep, three hours daily to eat, so many hours for socialization and play. If we likened these time slots to rooms in the house of our heart, what would they look like. The workroom would, of necessity, be large as would that for sleep. I wonder, would the space allocated for God be a nice parlor or would it be the broom closet….or would it be visible at all?
Looking at the parable of the sower, we find several instances where the good seed met with destruction. One scenario in Luke 8 tells of the seed that “fell among thorns … and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it” (Luke 8:7). Thorns are not always readily apparent. Thorns ordinarily accompany beautiful roses, whose beauty often hides the thorns that come along with them. Our careers, our families, our homes are all blessings from the Lord… but at the same time, we must realize that each comes with its own price. We must make certain that the time spent with these blessings does not take us from the blesser himself. Don’t let your time for God be choked.
Not only must we make time for God in our day, but He needs to be in every decision we make. Psalms 37:5, “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 admonishes us, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” He cannot direct our paths if we don’t take time to seek his guidance before our decisions. I currently work in sales; although the sales of my company are not important to the work of God, they do support our family. Therefore, before I ever call businesses or potential customers, I pray over my leads, asking God’s will. Also, you never know how many people we will reach in the line of work for the Lord.
Making room for God in our lives also clears room for the miraculous!
On a side note–but equally important note–we must make room for the messenger of God in our lives. I am reminded of the Shunamite woman in II Kings 4. It was the time of Elisha’s ministry and he travelled far and wide, meeting the needs of the people.
II Kings 4:8-10 tells us of the building project of the Shunamite woman: “And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.”
Indeed, the man of God found this woman’s home to be a place of rest and renewal as she fed him and allotted him a home. As a prophet, he did not have a home to call his own; this was the closest he ever came to ‘being home.’ Later, we find that her generosity paved the way for her miracle. Not only was her barren womb opened that she could conceive a son, but when he fell in death, God used this man of God to revive him.
There are three important elements we must learn:
1. We need to welcome the man of God to speak into our life. Having a room for the prophet and feeding him, the Shunamite woman opened herself up to him. He saw how she lived and could communicate with her. In opening her home, she had opened her heart to the messenger of God.
2. We must create a place for the man of God to rest. Often, our pastors not only study the word and pray for the church but too many times they are also the ones cleaning the church, mowing the lawn, fixing the plumbing, doing all the outreach. However, the pastor is our shepherd and we are the sheep. Bringing souls into the kingdom is likened to giving birth. Have you ever seen a shepherd give birth to a lamb? No, it doesn’t happen. Sheep beget sheep. We are to be busy about the harvest as the shepherd guides and protects us. He is to be given to the study of the Word of God and prayer.
We see this precept established by the disciples in Acts 6, where they began to delegate work within the church to the laity: “And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.”
If we want to be fed by our shepherds, we must free them for study and communion with God. That means taking on some of their lesser responsibilities, thereby freeing them to minister. I Timothy 5:18 bespeaks this concept but also admonishes us to make certain our pastors are taken care of financially so that their attentions remain undivided: “thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.” Notice, the Shunamite woman gave the man of God bread and also rest.
3. Finally, the Shunamite woman’s actions opened her up to the moving of the miraculous in her life. When we make room for the man of God, God is able to move in our lives.
Before you finish your day today, give thought to how much room you have made available for God and for God’s messenger in your life. We’ve often heard the idiom, ‘you get what you give.’ It is certainly a godly principle. I encourage you, make room for God today!
Do you have a prayer room in your home or even a prayer corner? What would your ideal be like?
