2 Kings 7-9 | John 1:1-28

“Whoever fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.” Proverbs 14:26

The greatest thing we can have is our relationship with God. If we have children, our children will be blessed as the opening verse of this devotion tells us that those who fear the Lord have a secure fortress, a secure home, which will be a safe place for their children. The very moment we declare our allegiance to God, He declares His allegiance to us and He never breaks it. We do not possess God like He is some kind of trophy that we show off in our homes or a fire extinguisher that we keep in the corner. In other words, He is not only useful when we need a boost or when things go wrong and then we shove away again.

How does a relationship with Jesus show up in our home? He is not like Casper the Friendly Ghost, where he floats around. Some of us may have a plaque on the wall of our home that says, “God is the head of the home, the unseen guest at every meal, the silent listener to every conversation.” Every time I (Hilary Price) see this sign, it irritates me because I feel like Jesus would say, “I don’t want to be unseen; I want to be heard.” Jesus is not sneaking around our homes trying to catch us when we do something wrong; He is passionate about being involved in our very being and, therefore, in our homes.

In so many of our homes, we do not hear the voice of Jesus because there is so much noise, distractions and clutter. They could be literal noises, the voices of this world drowning out the voice of Jesus speaking to us. We could also get distracted with work, afterschool programs and digital devices that we do not realize we are missing the presence of Jesus. As we hoard and are reluctant to let go of things, we build a wall of clutter that hinders us from going to Jesus.

How then do we bring the presence of Jesus into our lives? In the book of Revelation, Jesus said, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me” (Revelation 3:20). Although the context of Jesus’s call is specifically to the church in Laodicea, it could also apply to many of our homes and to all of our lives. Through His Holy Spirit, Christ lives in us.

What are the voices that we need to silence, distractions that we need to ignore and clutter that we need to trash in our lives to make a home for Jesus?

PRAYER

Dear God, I want Your presence to be living and active in my life, not just a trophy or a fire extinguisher that I keep around. Show me what I need to silence, ignore and trash to make a home for You. Thank You, Lord.