What God Wants

God wants to become incarnate in every human life, to walk among every culture and race and people.  He wants only to enter into our lives and to be welcomed there.  Can we make room for Him?  Can we find a place for God in our lives?

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one opens to Me, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me (Rev. 3:20).

He has not said that we must first sweep the house and prepare a gourmet meal; He has not said that we must hide the garbage can and unclutter the spare bedroom.  He has simply said that we must open the door, and He would come in.

We believe that God won't come to us until we clean up our act---but most of the time, we have no power, energy, or insight to do the necessary cleaning.  It's like saying that we cannot let the doctor see us until we are healthy.  If we want to know how to "clean up our act," we must let the Holy Spirit enter our lives and begin looking around at what is there.

In the Book of Nehemiah -- a reflection of the work of the Holy Spirit*---Nehemiah comes back from the Babylonian Captivity to oversee the re-building of Jerusalem, which had been leveled by Nebuchadnezzer in 587 B.C.  The glorious temple built by Solomen was now a pile of rubble; the protective walls of Jerusalem had been torn down---there was no protection for the captives who were trying to return to their beloved city. 

Nehemiah* (His name means "comfort," so he is a type of the Holy Spirit, the "Comforter,") walks around the city at night, observing the destruction and planning the work that needs to be done to re-build the walls.  He makes his observations at night so that the enemies/spies will not know what He is about to do.  Then He begins appointing people to work at specific places on the walls, while others were appointed to stand guard, to protect those who were working and could not hold weapons at the same time.  Slowly, despite mockery and ridicule and downright obstruction by the enemy, the walls of the city are re-built, and then people can dwell in safety, without fear, as they begin to re-build their own houses.

In the same way, the Holy Spirit walks around the torn-down walls of our lives in secret, planning the work that must be done to rebuild our lives in safety and security.  He appoints watchmen on the walls and workmen to build up the weak and torn-down areas.  Slowly, surely, He re-builds for us a place of safety and security, a place where God can dwell with us and walk with us.  That's all He wants--permission to come in and begin the work that needs to be done.  Why are we so determined to keep Him out?