“The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.” (Exodus 15:2)
Allie was exhausted! She had spent all morning scrubbing the moldy walls and pipes in a smelly bathroom. She had spent all afternoon scraping paint off some door frames. And she had spent all evening washing paintbrushes and running errands for the adults who were putting up wallpaper on the walls.
Allie’s family was on a work trip to help some people in Mississippi whose house had been damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Her dad had a painting business, and her mom was a counselor, so Allie got to go down to Mississippi and be a part of the work crew, too. They were working on the house of an older lady named Miss Ruby. Miss Ruby was probably ready to retire, but she still worked a full-time job at a store in town so that she could pay the bills.
As she cleaned up the tools and threw away scraps of wallpaper, Allie was humming some of her favorite songs about the Lord. She wondered to herself if Miss Ruby knew about God, or – if so – what Miss Ruby thought about Him. She also couldn’t help but wonder what Miss Ruby would think when she walked through that door after her work tonight and saw all the progress the crew had made on her home! It looked brand new to Allie. Everything was white and neat and nothing like the moldy mess it had been when they first came. It made Allie happy to think of doing something that would make Miss Ruby so happy. She couldn’t wait for her to come home!
Have you ever helped to get somebody’s bedroom ready? Maybe you have even helped to fix up someone’s whole house, like Allie and her family did. That is the kind of idea in Exodus 15:2, that we prepare a habitation (a home, dwelling place) for God. The LORD is the Giver of salvation. He is strength for His people. He is what His people want to sing about. And He is the One we should exalt.
Do you keep an important place for God in your life? God should not become some sort of “guest” in your life, with only a small, temporary room to stay in. God should have the very best, and He should have it for a long stay, permanently. Don’t just squeeze God into your life on top of everything else you want to keep important. God should be the most important Person in your life.
Are you constantly thinking about God? Do you keep ready to talk about Him? Are you trusting and obeying Him? Are you exalting Him? Is the LORD your strength and song? Does the thought of Him keep you going when you are exhausted? Just like Allie had served Miss Ruby all day and could not wait to see her face when she walked in after work, we should be thinking about our Savior all day, worshipping Him even with how we act and the things we say – as though we expect Him to come into His “home” and spend time with us every day.
God should feel “at home” in our lives.
My Response:
» Who is my strength, song, and salvation?
» Who deserves my praise and worship?
» Am I “making room for” God in my life?