Nancy Taylor Tate
Some words a friend, Janice Huse, wrote: “O Lord my heart longs to be, a habitation fit for Thee, a place where peace reigns, and love can flourish, a heart where You will feel at home.”
Does the Lord feel at home in our hearts? Do our attitudes and thoughts make a comfortable atmosphere for Him to abide in?
Some time ago I was dealing with dynamics that caused everything within me to want to react. Then I remembered a situation in my dad’s life. A quote from his book, The Secret of the Stairs:
“As I stood in the freezing rain upon that pile of unloaded lumber, an intense warfare raged within me. Then a verse from Job came to me, ‘though He slay me, yet will I trust Him’ (Job 13:15a), and I began to melt. I repeated this to the Lord and said, ‘Lord, I do not care what happens to me, I am going all the way with You.’
Just then, something of eternal value and substance was created deep within my being. I was changed. A deep inner peace, along with an imparted ability to obey the Lord, developed within me, and I was able to finish unloading the truck. My commitment to the Lord was literally burned into the fiber of my being through the intensity of this situation.”
As I remembered my dad’s experience, suddenly I saw not the circumstance but the Lord working in me. What a victory as I yielded to the Lord that day!
I am so thankful for the working of the Lord in our lives! This inner working of the Holy Spirit deep inside us is what brings us into a true fellowship with Him and with each other.
“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
“And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:27-28).
Years ago I did not notice the word “and” between verses 27 and 28 in Romans 8. There is intercession taking place for you and for me, even now. As we yield to the Holy Spirit, a working of the Lord takes place, His workmanship, that all things might “work together for good” in our hearts and lives.
What is that good? That good is Christ being formed in us. We are called to be partakers of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). That “as He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17).
We must be born again (John 3:7). We are saved through faith; salvation is a gift from God “not of works lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:9). But then the Word says if any man would follow after the Lord, he is to deny himself and take up his cross and follow after Him (Matthew 16:24). Luke makes it clear we are to do this daily (Luke 9:23). The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:31 that he died daily!
Choice! There is a working of the Lord within that we “should” and, if we are wise, “will” yield to. The Holy Spirit makes intercession for us, that this good can come forth in our lives.
There is an upward call within the church, that we might become that dwelling place for the presence of the Lord. That His shadow might cover us. That His glory might be seen. That we might become a conduit for His presence, impacting the earth today.
This is the secret of the stairs! That I meet the Lord in the circumstance that I am in. Then that becomes the platform for me to meet the Lord again. Difficulty becomes a riser in my walk and relationship with Him, bringing me to the next platform upon which I can then make another right choice. As I follow on to know the Lord, that pattern repeats itself as I am lifted into His presence, a place of intimacy with Him where time and time again I can surrender to the Lord, allowing Him to work within my heart. What a glorious calling!
When we know how to respond rightly, trouble becomes but a servant, an opportunity for God to do a further work in our lives. When we see this, we will become that habitation, a place where peace reigns and love can flourish. A heart where God will feel at home. Perhaps you will join me as I say, “This is my desire! Lord, let it be…”