Daily Devotional: Filling the House

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​​Jesus compares the repentant man to a house that has been swept clean. How can we refill our houses so the returning demons have no entry point?

Psalm 127:1

“Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.”

You have repented of trying to control your life. You are ready to completely surrender to Christ. You have swept the house clean and are ready to refurnish it. There is only one problem: you have no idea how to refurnish your house.

While Jesus seems to be presenting a metaphor that our spirits are houses in Luke 11, He is being literal. We literally have a spirit that is either filled with good or evil. We are consumed with either sin or godliness. So, how do we make sure we are correctly furnished?
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Before I go any further, I need to share what the Lord has recently revealed to me. I am work-based driven. I try to earn my salvation because planted within me is the belief that my value is tied to my works. This is an unbiblical belief. God loves us for who we are, His creation, not for what we do or fail to do.

Topics such as how to fill our house can easily become work-based. If I do x, y, and z, then my house will be perfect. Such is simply not the case. There is no combination of works that will produce a godly house. Like our worth, the state of our house is not tied to works but to identity. We are worthwhile to God because He created us. We have a godly house when we are of Him.

Filling our house with God is directly tied to our state of being. I literally mean filling the house. How do you fill a house? Imagine God as the air, fitting into all the large spaces, the tiny spaces, the seen areas, the unseen areas, the floor joists, the foundation, the walls, and every other component of a house you can consider. When we let God into every aspect of our being, He fills us with Himself.

I once heard that the Holy Spirit is a gentlemen. He will never go where He is not invited. Have you invited Him into every room of your mind? Do you refuse to let Him see a certain wound because it hurts too much?

Sweeping a house clean may seem easy, but what about the dirt that is hidden? I recently replaced the vinyl in the kitchen and was amazed at all the filth beneath the old flooring. Cleaning our spiritual house requires more than a superficial sweeping; it requires that we allow the cleaning agent to permeate the entire house, going even where we cannot go. This is the role of the Holy Spirit. He takes up His abode inside of us with the sole purpose of confirming us to Christ; that is, His goal is not to decorate our house with Christ but to make our house be Christ. This is also the function of grace, for grace takes us beyond our abilities, granting us righteousness and holiness we cannot attain ourselves.

Filling your house with God is like a deep cleaning, but it is also a remodeling process. We have to be willing to trust His plans. We have to refuse the mindset that God is a couch that fits neatly in the living room and instead recognize that living a godly life and refurnishing our life according to His designs is a state of being. Rather than focusing on works, the life of obedience to Christ focuses on abiding in Him. Prayer, reading the Scriptures, and attending worship service are wonderful ways to strive towards God, but I challenge you to seek God continually in your abiding to such a degree that every second of every day is filled with His presence.

• Reflection: Are you trying to refurnish your house with works or with the presence of Christ? Leave a comment below to share how God is transforming your life.