House Cleaning

 Last I had a dream.  I saw a woman who came to stay at my house; she had sparkling brown eyes and a foreign accent, like she was from a far away country. She loved worship and was a lot of fun.


Her name was “Holy.”


As I took her to the bedroom reserved for guests, I was slightly annoyed to discover that there were clothes and suitcases left behind by the last guest.
“I’ll make sure that’s cleaned up,” I told her.  She must have been pleased, because she decided to stay a while.  I think she was excited... I caught her sliding down an outdoor slide and having fun like a little girl! 

When I woke up, I realized that God was sending me a personal call to holiness -- not that I was doing anything wrong, but because he wanted to prepare my home for a deeper kind of worship that comes when Holiness is invited into my house.  This wasn't the kind of holiness that was legalistic or brought bondage, but rather, it paved the way for a new season by getting rid of the old things.  It brought freedom and fun!


During this time of unrest, its easy to point fingers at the world and how things are being handled.  However, God often deals with the world and His people in two different manners.  For instance, in the book of Exodus, Egypt was being plagued while the children of Israel were being prepared for freedom.  God's call to Egypt was "Let my people go," while his call to Israel was "Get ready to move forward."  This is a great time to prepare ourselves to move forward with God, and one way we can do this is by preparing our homes for a greater measure of His Holy Spirit. 

To do this, we can ask ourselves, “If ‘Holy’ were a guest, would she be comfortable in my home?  Or am I entertaining things that really have no business being in the space of God’s Child?”   When clear our lives of old clutter, we make room for the freedom and beauty God has prepared for our next season.

The Psalmist speaks of putting his house in order while waiting on God to reveal his plan.

I will behave wisely in a perfect way.
Oh, when will You come to me?
I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.   Psalm 101:2 NKJV

The New Living Translation phrases it this way:

I will be careful to live a blameless life--
when will you come to help me?
I will lead a life of integrity
in my own home.

While we are waiting for God to move in our nation, this is a great time to set our homes in order. Here’s a few questions we can ask ourselves:

-If I walk through my house, are there old items that simply need to go? Magazines or books that don’t please the Lord, or even photographs and items that really don’t reflect who I am as God’s child?

-When was the last time I prayed through my home, anointing it with oil and consecrating it for the Lord’s service?

-Are there any places of darkness in my home, that just don’t “feel” right? Maybe this is a good time to play worship music and saturate the atmosphere with God’s Presence.

-What attitudes are in my home that need to be altered, in order to host God’s peace and rest?

There’s nothing like the peace and freedom that comes from a home consecrated to God. He may even send some surprise house guests our way!

Best,
Rebecca