Last week at church (Reality LA in Hollywood), Pastor Tim (Chaddick) preached a message about being a habitat for the divine. Using Romans 8 as a base, he talked about how when we accept Christ, we become a habitat for the divine. But like an extreme makeover: heart addition, God is not content with the HGTV’s DIY method. It is not enough to cover up a few cracks or paint the walls a new shade of white. He wants to tear down the walls, probably even to the very foundation, and rebuild them in His image, in a way that allows us (as the house) to become His home.
This metaphor allowed me to contextualize some of what had gone on at Training Camp. I went thinking, “Okay we are going to have some time focused on us, to deal with our stuff, then some time for the team, then some time for the world.” I knew about a few cracks I had in my heart, and was fully anticipating that God would finally heal them.
But instead of a caulk gun and a nice, gentle finger to smooth the crack, God took a wrecking ball to my heart and my world. (In a good way, but in a very hard way). Things surfaced that I thought I had dealt with long ago, only to realize I had stuck a Band-Aid on my heart when God wanted to restore it to a pristine condition.
You see, while God will move into a fixer-upper, He desires to restore and renew the house, to turn it into a home. At training camp, I realized (yet again, it seems), that God wants to live in my heart, and wants me to want Him there. It shouldn’t be like that slightly awkward acquaintance who invites you over, keeps you in their pristine living room and then doesn’t even want you to use the bathroom. It should be like that best friend who doesn’t care that you haven’t cleaned your room in a month, or scrubbed the toilet down in three. That best friend will come over anyway, will laugh with you and cry with you, and probably even help you clean house if you ask. God wants to clean house. But more than a clean house, he wants to create a home.
We as His children are a habitat for the divine, and thus once we really let God take hold of our lives and hearts, we are in for an extreme makeover: heart edition. As for me, this excites and terrifies me, but I know God is good and I trust He will use all things for His glory, even the hard, sucky stuff. I know He desires to bring healing into my life and the lives of all I meet. I know He wants to live in a home, not a house. Maybe it will be messy, and there will definitely be cracks, but walking with Him and allowing HIm access and entry into each room, each hurt, each regret, each doubt, will let Him be a far better designer than Ty Pennington, and restore and renew me with a heart that seeks His.
One last thought, and something that God has used to speak truth into my life the past few weeks: I am a BELOVED, CHOSEN daughter of the KING! My daddy is the King, which makes me a princess. And do princesses let their fathers live in crummy, run-down shacks? Nope, they live in castles. So as God makes over my heart, now and in the coming year, and for the rest of my life, I know He is transforming it into a castle fit for royalty. But when it came to him as something more resembling the servant’s washroom, I realized it’s going to take a lot of work to turn it into a castle, which may be painful, but the end result will be beautiful.
Thankfully, I know the best, most creative designer in the Universe. The one who in fact, created it all. I trust the castle He will create in my heart in which He dwells will be the prettiest one of all.
Blessings & Love <3
