“Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
1 Corinthians 3:16 (NAB)
On Pentecost, the Spirit of God filled every temple of the believers in the upper room, for a perfect purpose and mission. Afterward, they left that room and began a new journey of renovation, empowered and transformed by the Holy Spirit.
It didn’t end on the day of Pentecost, but rather became an ongoing renovation project within every baptized believer in the generations to follow. Renovation requires tearing down the old and “making all things new,” as expressed by Jesus from His throne. (Revelation 21:5)
It’s all for the purpose of pleasing Him, who dwells within our temples. Each of us are temples of His Holy Spirit, under constant renovation.
Every uncomfortable event in our life is a part of the tearing down phase of our temple renovation. The chief designer of the project is Jesus. By allowing Him to remove old attitudes or habits, we become new creations in Christ, with a temple that is pleasing for His Spirit to dwell in.
We wouldn’t argue that our old deteriorating kitchen cabinets with broken drawers or loose hinges are not so bad. No one paints over deteriorated wood or lays worn out carpeting inside of a newly built home. Renovation means a clean, new beginning for the purpose of creating something better, and Jesus never stops making us better.
As our interior designer, we may not see or understand all of His plans in the moment, but we can trust in His expertise. He is coordinating and implementing the changes, as we give Him control. He gives us free will, never forcing His plans upon us. His Spirit, dwelling in our temples, works within every circumstance that occurs in our lives, helping us to adapt, by renewing and reshaping us in love.
We want Jesus to feel comfortable dwelling in our temples, so we give Him the seat of honor and talk with Him every day. Being the chief designer of our renovation project, He would love to keep meeting with us daily, to discuss the next design plan. If we think back to a painful period in our lives and compare it to who we are today, we will find that there was a subtle spiritual growth that took place over time.
Sometimes, the greatest battle is within our minds when faced with tragic or frightening circumstances. The Holy Spirit dwells in us to help us choose what we allow to take root in our thought life. We are reminded to take every thought captive, testing it to see if it measures up to God’s truth or not. (2 Corinthians 10:5)
The Spirit helps us take every lying thought captive, including thoughts of hopelessness, or the lie that we are being punished by God. He redirects our thought life to the truth that God loves us and is working all things together for our good.
During the most difficult periods, we cannot see what good is coming to us or to our loved ones in the moment, but we can still take the negative thoughts captive by saying, “Jesus, I trust that you are in control.”
We may not always understand what the design plan is, but we can trust that He loves us and promises to keep us in perfect peace, during our transformation. The final reveal will be beautiful from the inside out, as Jesus is the honored guest during the entire renovation. He doesn’t wait until it’s finished and perfect, but promises to be with us during every stage of renovation throughout our lives.
Lord, while you dwell in our temple, you are the chief designer of our spiritual renovation. Give us the grace and faith to accept that your design plans are best for us. Amen
