Have you walked through the process of building a house?

The house we live in now is our 3rd home and the 3rd house we watched builders put together from the ground up.

Before they even broke ground, we spent hours getting to know the layout of this house. We visited the model repeatedly, making notes and snapping pictures of every corner. I poured over house plans, figuring out space for every piece of furniture, while we stayed several months in a little townhome we called, The Waiting Place.

Just a couple years after we settled in here, we felt like God wanted us to let this house go.

It didn’t make sense. Let go of our dream house, when our dream had just come true? So we listed the house while our littlest was still a baby, and we kept it wonderfully clean for showings. 🙂  But after most of a year, we again felt peace–this time, about taking it off the market.

Years later, we wonder if that whole process was about becoming  willing to let go of something we loved a whole lot. We still don’t feel certain we’ll stay here, in this house.

The truth is, whether we’re in a home we consider a long-term plan or the in-between, shouldn’t we all feel a little unsettled here?

This world is not our home. We’re foreigners, passing through. But how many of us live as if that’s really true? I’m guilty of trying to create some sort of heaven on earth, starting right here within these walls.

And speaking of these walls, how amazing is it to remember that the Lord calls us–believers–His house?

And we are His house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence, and the hope in which we glory. Hebrews 3:6b

As the house of God, we are God’s people and members of His household (Ephesians 2:19). He lives in each of us and also builds us up together as a spiritual house, the church, where He dwells among us.

You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  1 Peter 2:5

In the Old Testament, the house of God refers to Israel or the temple. When Solomon finished building His temple, He raised his hands to heaven and dedicated it to the Lord, in awe that the uncontainable God of the universe would choose to dwell alongside human beings.

“But will God really dwell on earth with humans?

The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you.

How much less this temple I have built!”  2 Chronicles 6:18

Yes, the Lord desires to dwell among His people. Yes, we are now His dwelling place, if we hold firmly to our confidence and our hope in Him.

But wait. IF? So what if we don’t hold firmly? Do we lose our place in His house?

This is not about losing salvation. It’s about proving our commitment to Him.

If we are truly in Christ, we will hold Him fast. Our commitment to Him will be proven over time.

We prove we are his house if we continue to hold firmly to Him.

Speaking of holding firmly, is there anything else you need to let go of?

What are the other things for you, the ones that get in the way of your trust and dependence on the Lord alone? Isn’t it time to pry open those hands and offer them to the Lord?

Because at some point, nothing else remains. Nothing but Christ is worth holding fast.