Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room...

So, I actually wrote this last year at Christmas time but God is speaking to me about it again. Christmas, supposedly, is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but this year I don't feel so wonderful. God's speaking a lot to me through everything that is going on in my life right now; but when it comes down to it, it still hurts. I felt like this was appropriate, I love when God speaks to you from something you've forgot about like this. This Christmas season, I want to prepare Him room in my heart. So here it is:

Don't you just love when God speaks to you about something when you least expect it? Like when you're ready to fall asleep. That's what just happened. I wanted to share though.

So, last night I was at a Christmas Eve service and I kept getting very distracted. The service had the same Christmas songs and I felt like I was just singing words.But then I heard the gentle voice of Jesus reminding me of all the times I told Him that I wanted to live wholeheartedly. It seemed like He was saying "Here's your chance to be wholehearted! I want to speak to you!" Although I didn't understand how paying attention more to songs was being wholehearted, I obeyed. I listened more intently to the songs and they were great... but then we started singing Joy to the World. K, now, we've probably all known this song since we were wee children, but Jesus was showing me the depth to what that song was really saying. One line caught my eye and like the title says, "Let every heart prepare Him room..."

The rest of the song talks about when Jesus came into the physical Earth. And that was amazing, no doubt! But I think we only concentrate on the physical. It is so profound: we have a chance to not only let Jesus into our physical world, but in our hearts. I feel like just as Mary and Joseph couldn't find a place to put baby Jesus, neither can we in our hearts sometimes.

Our hearts are over crowded with junk and baggage and we simply don't have a place to put our Savior. We want to, but He is THE Savior of the world! He doesn't belong with all the garbage. Once we get all the trash out, then surely, Jesus can come in and find a cosy little home nestled in our heart.

Yet, I think Jesus can still enter in to the "manger" parts of our hearts. The filthy, unclean, disgusting parts of our lives and our heart. The least likely place a Savior should have been born was in a barn. But Jesus there, too, was born in the broken and ugly, only to completely change and save the world later in His life.

Jesus needs to be born in the manger of our hearts! The most horrible, disgusting place we think a Savior should not live. We don't need our perfect 5-star hotel hearts for Jesus to enter in. He loves the bruised and broken. He is close to the brokenhearted. (Psalms 34:18) It is great for Jesus to live with our hearts all cleaned up and beautiful for Him, but in reality, are our hearts usually completely spotless? And even if it is clear of brokenness, do we prepare room for Jesus, or is it filled with pride or contentment for where we are at? No matter what the circumstances, Jesus can completely change and save OUR world, in the same way He did with the whole world. He is a personal God that cares for us, no matter how much filth and trash we have in our hearts. He can still make Himself home there.

And this does not only apply to salvation. I'm reminded that my heart needs to prepare Him room on a daily basis. Even if all that is in my heart is filth. I just need to invite Him to stay. And that is when Jesus reminded me of living wholeheartedly. Giving Him my whole heart; not just parts. God has an amazing way of just tying everything in, doesn't he?

I just wanted to type this out to encourage some of you maybe. I feel like Christmas we always hear, "Jesus is the real reason for the season!" and we hear that Jesus was born in a manger and we know the story like the back of our hand. And It is an amazing story of what happened. But I think there is more than just what happenED. I believe Jesus has a very real way of still working in our hearts. Him coming to earth didn't just happen. It still happens when we let Him in.

and don't forget the rest of the song: talking about how joy filled the Earth when we prepared for the Messiah. "Joy to the world, the Lord has come!" Let Joy fill our hearts as the Lord comes to us, no matter where that is: A manger or a 5 star hotel :)


well, it is 2 a.m. now, and I think I shall sleep. Sorry if that didn't make sense, I haven't been making sense all day. But anyway...


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!! :D