God Comes to Those Who Make Room for Him

”Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20, NKJV).

Revelation 3:20 is a picture of the heart of God. He stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. He longs to connect with us. He wants to spend time with us … to eat with us and to enjoy life together with us. In Romans 8:31, God tells us that He is “for” us. This is the true picture of the heart of God.

If that is true, why do we have such a difficult time connecting with God? Ego and selfishness. We are far more consumed with self than we could ever imagine. Anything that potentially messes with self is seen as an invader. It is generally not welcome. God is not welcome because He calls us to die to self and to love others unconditionally.

God is truth and light. That light shines on our selfishness and it shows our selfishness to be what it is. As human beings, we don’t like that. If something exposes us in a way that is not flattering to self, ego will fight it. Many times, the early stages of an encounter with God brings something called conviction—a sense that something in us is not right and that it needs to change.

There is a deep part of us that was created to resist change. In the beginning, God created us good and for a good person to change, he is turning away from what is good. Change generally feels wrong. What has been normal to us feels right. God never changes because for Him to change, He would have to become evil.

When bad things are present within us, change is needed. Right before the verse where Jesus invites us to come and dine with Him, Jesus says, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent” (Rev, 3:19, NKJV). Repent means to change

direction—to turn from our selfish ways to live in ways that bless God and others. For us to come to the light, we must be willing to give up our darkness. We must be willing to change. We must be willing to make room for the light to come into our lives.

Most people don’t come to God wanting Him to be God. They only approach God for some kind of selfish benefit. God will not feed our selfishness. Instead, He waits for us to respond to His invitation—an invitation that asks us to commune with Him so that we can become like Him and live in the manner that He desires.

· What has your approach to God looked like in the past? What kinds of things have you done or said? What have you asked for?

· Have you ever bargained with God—offered to respond in a certain way if He would only give you what you want?

God comes to those who make room for Him. God may honor a selfish approach to Him for a while. He wants us to know that He is God and that He can bless. Over time, God can only bless those who make room for Him—those who allow His life to flow through their lives. Are you a candidate for God's blessing? Are you making room for God?