The Empty House

Reading my Bible tonight, I came across a verse and it struck me differently. The story is about wickedness occupying a house. I always brushed past this verse as commentary on the persistence of evil spirits.

““When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12‬:‭43‬-‭45‬ ‭NIV‬‬

That, though true, is not the root of this verse. The house in the verse represents our lives, what we fill it with, and our contendedness in it. So, even if we change, do better, or get out of a troubled life it is not the end. The first impure spirit is kicked out, but now what do we fill our lives with? This is where faith and the Holy Spirit are so important. That must become the new focus to fill your "house" while keeping it neat and tidy. Do not leave room for mischief, impure spirits, and sin.

When someone is newly saved they empty the house, they get it in order, everything is clean, but without Jesus it is empty. We long to fill the void with "something". When we are not fortifying it with Jesus then the emptiness can lead us to fill it with the wrong things, the sinful things, the impure spirits.

God must always be first - first to fill you.

”“You shall have no other gods before me.“

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Not so fast. Try reading it like this, “have no other thing or no other person before me.” Things I can easily put above Christ: my marriage, my job, my kids, my health, and more. All good things. Until they move God out of the top spot. Then they’re gods. Here’s what I’ve realized: when the demands of life feel overwhelming, it’s often because I’ve put something or somebody before God. 

Faith and the Holy Spirit, first, and full.