A House Full of Holy
After lightning struck and the fire destroyed seventy percent of our home, we rebuilt. Every item seared, soaked, and smoked was lifted and sifted. Ashes were removed. All things broken and tattered were excavated and evaluated in pursuit of total renewal and restoration.
Then a new plan was put in place.
A plan paved with promise and purpose.
It was time to rebuild. Time for prayers of protection and direction. Time for beauty to rise. Time for fresh peace and paint to adorn rooms that had been wrecked by a storm that brought fire.
Echoes of healing and hope filled the hallways of our home with each swing of the hammer and hanging of drywall.
Relief and resilience rose as painters brushed beams and seams with crisp, cool shades of color.
Day after day, I searched high and low, online and in lines, for items and art to decorate the space of our place. Because what we fill our homes with matters. Whether things of art or the posture of a heart.
The residence of God is filled with a splendor more colorful and glorious than you and I can even imagine. Streets of gold. Walls of jasper and glass (Revelation 21:11), the foundations of which are decorated with every kind of precious stone (Revelation 21:19). All of it lit by the light of the Lamb (Revelation 21:23), the essence of which fills the atmosphere of heaven with holiness.
“...holiness adorns Your house for endless days, O Lord” (Psalm 93:5).
In just five short verses, the author of Psalm 93 paints words of worship on the canvas of a holy heaven that boasts our mighty, majestic Messiah. Rich with brush strokes of regal and royal – accented with waters and waves, stability and strength, eternity, and establishment. A work of art echoing the wonder of worship, responsive in awe of the eternal Holy One.
“The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty;
the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength;
indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.
2 Your throne was established long ago;
you are from all eternity.3 The seas have lifted up, Lord,
the seas have lifted up their voice;
the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea—
the Lord on high is mighty.5 Your statutes, Lord, stand firm;
holiness adorns your house
for endless days, O Lord”(Psalm 93).
If God fills His house with holy, then we should too.
What does this look like in real life? Under a real roof with real people?
I imagine it looks a lot like the principles for godly living Moses gave the Israelites after he was given the Ten Commandments on the top of Mount Sinai. God’s vision for our lives is clearly rooted in a holy relationship with Him. Just as my house was rebuilt and renovated after the fire, our lives are transformed from sin and ruin to grace and restoration in Christ when we place our faith in Him and choose to live out His principles for godly living.
“These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates”
(Deuteronomy 6:1-9, NIV).
Holy words.
Holy wonder.
Holy works.
This is a legacy plan we can put in place today: to build a holy house.
Holy Father, If You chose to fill the atmosphere of Your presence with holiness, then I do too. Please purify my heart, head, habits, and home. Renew a right spirit within me for Your glory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
~ Gwen Smith is an author, speaker, co-founder of Girlfriends in God and host of the Graceologie podcast.