As I considered the devotional from yesterday, I was struck with a thought. Now that I have been burned out, don’t I now need to be remodeled? Immediately, I saw myself begin to be painted on the inside with a variety of beautiful and bright colors. Like the Holy Spirit was now renovating what had been cleaned out.
After we face a season of cleansing, we always want to invite the Holy Spirit to come and fill that space. The Bible makes this clear in the following scripture.
When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left. When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.’ Luke 11:24-26
Have you ever wondered how some people seem to get set free only to return, like a dog to its vomit, not too long after? I believe that often these people forget or weren’t counseled to ask Holy Spirit to fill all that space so nothing could return. This exact thing happened to me when I first tried to get my life back on track. I couldn’t figure out why I kept returning to the things that had entangled me. Not until I was finally taught that the space must be filled with Holy Spirit. This was a life changing revelation. This is something I now return to whenever God frees me from any and everything.
We must come face to face with our own broken places, turn them over to God and then complete the circle by asking Him for an infilling. Ask Him to pour His Spirit into all the cracks in your heart and to bring complete release from the sin that had once entangled you.
There are no shortcuts. These things need to not only happen, but also be taught to those who are being brought into the kingdom. God isn’t only interested in removing and tearing down wrong thoughts and habits, He’s a master Carpenter Who longs to complete His entire work. That includes beautifying the final product.
Prayer Moment: God, I thank You for freeing me from the sin that so easily entangles me. I ask You to not only free me from the stumbling blocks in my life, but to then fill my empty places with Holy Spirit. Let Holy Spirit reign free within me. I surrender myself to You completely. I praise You for Your healing oil that pours over me and restores my soul. I thank You for the gift of Holy Spirit on the earth. Thank You for loving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. Hebrews 12:1-2a
Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:9-10
365 Days in the Presence 