Late last night, my husband and I grabbed our dinner and headed to the living room where we usually watch an episode of The Office while we eat.  However, instead of watching The Office, we decided to turn on the news and fill our minds with the latest and greatest updates on the coronavirus.

We made space in our evening to watch and talk about something that benefited us nothing by the time we went to bed—if anything, it filled our minds with unnecessary thoughts and frustration as we spent an hour or so watching the hysteria our Nation is now in because of this virus.

Similarly, my children usually watch cartoons as I prepare dinner, but instead, we decided to post-pone dinner for another hour so we could snuggle on the couch and watch cartoons with them.

We made space in our day for cuddles with our children that brought so much more joy into our lives that evening than preparing dinner would have.

Our days are constantly being filled with people, places, assignments, and emotions. If we can squeeze one extra activity or conversation in our day, we do. Thankfully, God has been kind to expose my desire to fill every empty space in my life with something, just so I wasn’t sitting around twiddling my thumbs. I was so consumed with filling spaces that my life itself felt claustrophobic.  

I shared in my last blog how I made the decision to say goodbye to social media this year. I had been so tired of filling my time, energy, emotions, opinions, and thoughts with information from social media that I was committed to eliminating anything that wasn’t going to add value to my life. And not only social media, but I was trying to entertain relationships that have been dead for years, and tend to assignments God has already closed the door to. I also found myself pushing aside my dreams and visions because I didn’t have enough “room” in my life to dedicate myself to something I have always wanted to do.

But, perhaps the most convicting of all these explanations is when the Lord gave me an assignment to complete, and instead of creating space to pour my heart into something new He wanted me to do, I tried to shove an extra hour into my day that was already bleeding out precious minutes. My work for Him, in this particular assignment, felt mediocre and discouraging. I griped and whined and was disappointed in my progress. I was doing too much of the wrong things and didn’t have enough space to obediently complete this assignment.

This is where I want to be honest with you– 2019 was one of the best years of my life. I know this sounds like a contradiction to everything I have shared thus far, but give me a minute to explain.

In 2019, I spent an average of one hour with the Lord almost every day. My prayer life was enriched and strengthened, my ability to hear the Lord’s voice grew increasingly over the year, and my character was refined so intensely, that sometimes I still don’t recognize my own heart and mind.

However, when the Lord began calling me to this new assignment, I wasn’t prepared for how much of my life would need to be committed in order to be fully obedient to what He was asking me to do. I thought I would be able to use the one hour I already was giving Him each morning. But, as I’ve learned, and you’ve probably figured out by now, God didn’t want me to replace my prayer time with this assignment. He wanted me to create more space for Him to fill.

Most of us are not OK with how much (or how little) we see God moving in our lives. We complain and accuse Him of not listening to us, not caring about our needs, or simply not being who He says He is. We place blame on Him as if He is the one withholding Himself from us. But, are we really creating enough room in our lives for Him to show up?

I can paint a thousand pictures for you to demonstrate that you can only consume what you make room for. For instance, when your phone’s storage is full, you have to make space in order to be able to use the phone again as you please. When you want to dig a pond in your backyard landscape, you need to create space in the ground for the water to fill. If you’re willing to make room, you are able to keep moving forward.

Same with the Holy Spirit. If you aren’t willing to create space in your life for the Holy Spirit to fill with the supernatural power of God, then you will never be able to advance forward into your destiny.

For me, my 2019 devotion to the Lord was not enough for me to advance forward into the next level of my destiny. I needed to create even more space in 2020 if I wanted the Holy Spirit to fill my life with everything He has promised me. I was not expecting to be given an assignment that would take me deeper into the heart and mind of Christ, allow me to discover new dimensions of His goodness, and teach me to understand His truths more than I ever have. However, if it weren’t for my willingness to give Him all the space He required, I would still be trying to chase my destiny with an immovable, claustrophobic life.

Creating spaces throughout your day for God to show up is the first step to awkward, powerful living. And even though it took me several weeks to navigate this new intentional lifestyle with God, we are finally riding the same waves of His Spirit, heading in the direction He has always intended for us to go—together.  

God is faithful. Create space for Him to fill, and I promise you, He will.

When He is increased in your life, everything concerning your destiny begins to fall into place. And the moment you discover your purpose in Him, well, I’ll save that for next time!

Stay tuned, my friends.