Threshold Living

Repentance put me back under the covering of his wings and closed the door to the outside.

As God has said: I will dwell in them and walk among them.
I will be their God and they shall be my people.
Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you.
I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.
Therefore, having these promises, beloved,
let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

2 CORINTHIANS  6:16b-7:1 NKJV

It is not a new concept that we should be different than the world around us, but the Holy Spirit gave me another simple picture of what that really looks like. I was sitting in the doorway between my living room and patio. Outside it was hot and the bugs were everywhere. Inside the house was cool and comfortable. As I sat with the door open, a giant, black fly buzzed by my head and into the house.

Immediately, the Spirit began to teach me. The outside patio was a picture of being in the world, unsheltered from the elements, where the nuisance, distraction, and attacks of spiritual darkness (bugs) had free reign. Inside the house represented being in the hidden presence of God, shielded and protected. Although most of me was in the house, my feet were outside and the door was wide open for the bugs to invade my home.

As I asked to see what God saw, he showed me a specific area where my feet were in the world, where I was thinking and acting like the world instead of how Christ would think or act. Repentance put me back under the covering of his wings and closed the door to the outside. However, there was still the need to deal with the “flies” that had come into the house through my carelessness. By submitting to and washing in the Word, I had soon taken the right away from Satan to attack specific areas of my life.

Was it a huge issue of disobedience? No. In fact, it was really pretty silly to most peoples’ thinking. My husband, Matt, and I had recently purchased a zippy, little car after driving a large pick-up truck for years. I hadn’t been in an accident or gotten a ticket. No drinking and driving. But within no time I had taken on this zippy, little attitude whenever I drove out of the driveway; a seed of pride in this image of myself had fallen on fertile ground. It seems small, but small seeds grow into giant trees.

What an amazing Father we have to point out seeds to us, instead of waiting until we have to figure out how to get that giant tree out of our living room.

(Excerpt from This Beloved Road: A Journey of Revelation and Worship)

Looking for more encouragement today? Check Out Just Angry or Inspired?

Click here to learn more about author Amy Layne Litzelman