Day #178 - Presence Preperation

The Presence - A Devotional for living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder

In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 NIV

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

How clean do you like to have your house to have guests over?

My wife loves to have a clean house. It’s one of her top love languages. She really doesn’t like to host people if our house is a mess. But her idea of a mess and mine are quite different. She keeps our place clean. When she tells me that the house is a real mess, that usually means we can have it really clean in about thirty to sixty minutes. I do really like that she likes a clean house and keeps it that way.

Paul talks about how we are to prepare our lives like a home. We are to keep ourselves clean of common things so that we can be an instrument for God’s special purposes. We are to be holy and useful to our Master for every good work He has prepared for us. God is holy and to be a good host for Him we are to be holy and clean.

We never earn God’s presence in our lives. All through the Scriptures people can experience the presence of God because of God’s goodness. Sinners and struggling saints encounter God throughout the Bible by God’s grace. But it is another thing to make yourself a dwelling place for God, where you become not just someone who God visits but one He inhabits.

To be a habitation for God we need to practice presence preparation by responding to God’s grace and living a holy life. If God is your guest, what needs to be cleansed from your life? Is there anything that hinders being a host for the Holy One?

If we aren’t prepared for God’s purposes, we can miss out on Divine opportunities. Opportunities come to those who are prepared as a vessel for God. You are not common, you are purchased by the blood of Jesus and have become a dwelling place for our Almighty God. If you want more of His presence in your life, prepare your life to host Him.

Father God, thank you for Your presence. You are holy and you have made me holy by the blood of Your Son. I want to be a host for Your glory and be ready for all the good works You have prepared for me. Lord help prepare me and clean me to be a dwelling place that You inhabit for Your glory. In Jesus precious name, amen.