Holy Spirit, You Are Welcome Here.

Friday, 15 May 20261 Corinthians 3:16

Illustration

Scripture

1 Corinthians 3:16·WEB Translation

Don't you know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

Devotional

Sorry About The Mess

With two kids under four, our house is in an almost constant state of mess. Small cars strewn across the living room floor, pillows stacked in a pile on the floor, lego bricks everywhere just asking to be trodden on.

Two young boys and a tidy house are simply not compatible.

We still have people around, but the moment they walk in, I find myself apologising. "Sorry about the mess." I've made my peace with that. I just haven't stopped apologising for it.

And I've realised I do exactly the same thing with the Holy Spirit.

I invite Him in, and then immediately start explaining myself.

Sorry about the anxiety. Sorry about the impatience last night when the boys wouldn't go to sleep. Sorry about this corner I haven't sorted yet, this habit I keep meaning to break, this worry I can't seem to put down. As if He needs advance warning. As if He might be put off.

But the Holy Spirit doesn't need the apology. He's not a polite houseguest casting an eye over your skirting boards. He specifically moves toward mess.

The disciples He came to at Pentecost weren't sorted, they were hiding in a room, confused and frightened, not sure what came next. The people Jesus spent His time with weren't the ones who had it together. They were the struggling, the broken, the ones with complicated lives and more questions than answers.

His track record is pretty consistent: He shows up for people who are a work in progress. Which, if we're honest, is all of us.

1 Corinthians 3:16 says, "Don't you know that you are a temple of God, and that God's Spirit lives in you?"

A temple. Not a showroom. A temple is a place of encounter, of honesty, of bringing what you actually have before God rather than what you wish you had. And the Spirit has chosen to live in yours, mess and all.

You don't need to have it together before you invite Him in. You don't need to be tidier, more sorted, more spiritually presentable.

The Holy Spirit doesn't just tolerate the mess, He's drawn to it. Pentecost didn't happen in a palace. It happened in a room full of frightened, ordinary, unready people.

Holy Spirit, You are welcome here. No apology necessary.

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Prayer

Holy Spirit, You are welcome here, not the polished version of here, not after I've tidied up and sorted out and become someone more spiritually presentable, but right now, as things actually are.

I confess I've been apologising before inviting You in, explaining the mess before opening the door, as if Your willingness to come depended on what You'd find when You got here.

Teach me that You don't require the apology, that You're not a guest who needs warning, that the mess in my life is not a surprise to You and not a barrier to Your presence.

Remind me of Pentecost, that You came to frightened, confused, unready people and didn't wait for them to get themselves together, that unready has never stopped You.

Help me stop waiting until I'm tidier, more sorted, more together, to stop withholding the invitation until I feel worthy of giving it, because that day may never come.

Give me courage to name the messiest part of my life right now and say welcome there specifically, to open that door I've been keeping shut and trust You with what's behind it.

Remind me that You are drawn to the broken and the struggling, that a temple doesn't have to be a showroom, that You live in me as I am not as I wish I were.

Let me live today without the apology, welcoming You into every corner, especially the untidy ones, Holy Spirit, You are welcome here, all of it, no apology necessary.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Journaling Prompts

Q.What part of your life do you find yourself apologizing for?
Q.When do you feel like you need to have things more sorted before coming to God?
Q.How does it change things to know the Holy Spirit is drawn to mess, not put off by it?
Q.What is the messiest part of your life right now that you've been keeping the door shut on?
Q.What would it look like to say "Holy Spirit, You are welcome here" and mean the messy parts too?

Art Print

If this devotional has spoken to you, the full 8 × 10″ art print is available to bring into your home. It’s printed on quality art paper, unframed and ready to place wherever you need a quiet reminder that the Holy Spirit is welcome here. You can find it in my shop, with free shipping included.

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