Many times we think of a church building as God’s habitation place. However, when we look at the scripture, we see that we are supposed to be His resting place. The question is, are we making ourselves a habitation for God!?
Thus says the Lord:
“Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest?
2 For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist,”
Says the Lord.
“But on this one will I look:
On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word. Isaiah 66:1-2
43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.” Matthew 12:43-45
The above two passages are eye-opening! God is looking for a resting place in His people, and the enemy is looking for a resting place in people as well. In the Isaiah passage, the Lord says that heaven and earth belongs to Him, but He desires for us to make ourselves a place of habitation for him. On the other hand, the enemy doesn’t own anything but he goes to and fro looking to lodge himself in someone’s life. He does not look for a person’s invitation.
The above passage in Isaiah 66 gives an understanding on how we can be a dwelling place for God and oppose and reject the activity of the enemy in our lives.
The Lord is looking for those who are poor and contrite in spirit. These individuals are not self-reliant, and they know that they are in need of God. They have learned to utterly be dependent on Him. This allows us to be an empty vessel being available for God’s habitation. When we are empty of ourselves and have a poverty of spirit, then the Kingdom of God belongs to us and God is pleased to take residence in our lives.
A humble and submitted life has the ability to oppose the demons that are looking for a place to lodge themselves. That’s why we have to be so careful with various cultural messages such as our rights, our truth, or our desires. The majority of those ideas come from the flesh and give room for the enemy to cause offense and be an open door for the person to be oppressed by the enemy.
Furthermore, if we are going to make our lives a habitation for God and oppose the activity of the demonic, we should take the word of God seriously and not think that we are smarter than the Bible. We should also not get ourselves involved in various carnal lifestyles and behaviors.
Matthew 12 is a reminder that to just be delivered from sin and demons is not enough, but instead we need to continually walk in humility, poverty of spirit, and the fear of God. When we do this, we are inviting the Spirit of the living God to come and to reside in us and rest in us. Then there should be no room for the enemy in the life of a believer.
Examine your life and see if there are areas that keep the door open for the enemy to enter in. What is your attitude towards the spirit of God? Do you want desperately for the Lord to have His resting place in you!? Do you tremble at His word!? Are there things that cause to remain in a carnal state of mind and emotions?