What happened to that house we were going for?
Well after much waiting and stillness in Him, I am here to say that God is faithful through it all. I am currently sitting at the table looking out of the window of the very home that God said was ours. Sometimes we have an idea of how it will go or what the journey will look like and if we are not careful we can put God in a box of familiarness that is not what He is wanting to do.
I had this idea that moving in here would be a grand experience and that I would love every moment of it and it would be absolute home bliss. In this journey I have to admit it has been far from that.
From the moment we moved in I started to regret this house, be fearful, feel overwhelmed and even doubt what God was saying to us. I kept asking myself the question why? Why would you bring us here? Why would you make us go through this?
I had worked so hard with Jamie and many family and friends to leave our home in Florida clean, put together and welcoming for our new tenants. I wanted them to know it was going to be a home of peace and His presence.
By the time we left Florida I was exhausted physically, emotionally and all over the place. When we pulled into the new home I was reminded this was a testimony of God speaking something over our lives and bringing it into existence and I came in with much expectation. From the moment I walked in the door that quickly went out the window and disappointment started to set in.
The house was not clean at all and very quickly we had a list of repairs that had to be done in order for it to function properly and even make it habitable. Now I could deal with all that but then there came the spiders…
We very quickly found out the house, which had been empty for over a year, was infested with brown recluse spiders and red hornets! I didn’t sleep well for several nights and my excitement quickly turned to tears and then anger. Why would God make us go through this awful experience. I felt very alone and very sad, I even begged Jamie to take us back to Florida a few times!
A few days in I was in the midst of the chaos and I heard the Lord whisper this phrase to me. “Invite me in the journey” – my heart was thumping hard – how did I not allow him to be with me? I totally switched into survival mode when we arrived and had tried to deal with all of this in my own strength but He was longing to walk along side me even when dealing with the creepy spiders.
He is there to bring peace, to bring wisdom and comfort when we don’t understand. I have no idea why I am walking through this but I do know this, He is with me in the journey because I invited Him to be with me. I have changed my attitude towards the spiders and I have let them know that me and Jesus have put a vacate notice on them. They may no longer live in our home – you laugh and it sounds silly I know, but for me it is realizing I can live on top of the trial instead of letting it spiral me downward into a pit of depression and hopelessness.
As I write this, we still see a few spiders but it is getting much better and I am learning through it all. I am declaring everyday that no weapon formed against me will prosper. The devil can try and use this situation to make me doubt the promises of God but I am calling his bluff.
This house is a place of peace and a place where people can come and feel His presence, where they can be restored, where they can know Him in a real way! This is a place where lives are changed, music is writtien, words of life are spoken and atmospheres shift! No spider or bug can change that.
When we choose to let Him into our journey, He will bring a heavenly perspective. He will never leave us or forsake us and we will feel Him near. I am choosing to find the place where His peace is! I am doing all that I can to make this place feel like home and I anxiously await the opportunities that will come through our doors of this God given home because when He has a plan and a purpose then He will see it through! I’m not giving up – I’m not backing down but I am pressing into Him and I’m listening for His words of life! Let Him be a part today, even in the small areas of your life – He cares and He is waiting there with open arms!
SCRIPTURE STUDY ON INVITING HIM IN
- Isaiah 54:17
- 2 Corinthians 3:12
- Jeremiah 29:11
- Joshua 1:9