The Room He Has Prepared

“In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go, and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you may also be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:2-4

One of my favorite ways to fall asleep at night is to envision Jesus preparing a room for me in His Father’s house. And it’s become a sweet resting place for the hearts of my daughters at bedtime as well. I often ask them what they imagine they’ll see in their heavenly rooms and my soul leaps when they respond with secret treasures they’ve already experienced in Christ. One night, my oldest daughter asked me how we’ll know which room is ours and the Holy Spirit rolled off my tongue that we’ll know because Jesus prepares every room we enter in now and that’s how we’ll find Him when we get there.

Many times the curiosities of her tender spirit revisit me in the midnight hours and I find myself asking God the same questions with her childlike faith. On a search to know the One who has walked before me, I asked Him to show me rooms He had prepared where I experienced the fullness of all He planned in that place. The first room was a classroom and my name was on the front row. I knew this place very well and I smiled to remember that it took Him a few weeks to get me into the seat He assigned. Though I was never a front row student, He has shown me the importance of coming closer to where He is and who He is speaking through that I might catch His breath cascading over me without distraction. So many times His words have moved my pen during class and I know they were a gift only to be received in the place He made ready ahead of time.

The second room that appeared was a sanctuary on a crowded evening during worship. This time I was already obediently sitting in the front row, but that meant there was no spot to kneel during worship, so I took a few steps forward and postured myself low on the altar. Every time I’ve been inside this sanctuary, many have filled the altar area, so it seemed completely natural and normal for me to go there. When the songs were coming to a close, I opened my eyes to return to my seat, only to discover that I was the only one out of a thousand women who ventured that close to the worship stage. The unmistakable beckoning of the Holy Spirit and the offering of tears I left in the hands of God on that altar silenced any embarrassment that tried to rob me of the faith that was birthed from what I privately encountered in such a public setting.

And the last room He showed me was my living room on a Monday morning before anyone comes over. I saw my Bible, the handouts, my glasses, coffee, and wedding rings all scattered beneath the chair where I usually sit by the window. I remember the distinct urge I had after the room had been set to cast off everything in my hands and get facedown in prayer on the floor. This posture radically changed the course of our last study and set the atmosphere abuzz with Holy Spirit fire. I know He was layering the air with His presence, revelation, and glory in a way that would make eternal deposits we could never completely comprehend.

I’m sharing this, because Jesus is presently outside of time preparing every room for you for the rest of your earthly and heavenly life. He hasn’t wasted a single opportunity to reveal Himself everywhere you’ve been and everywhere you’ll go. The choice is ours to make if we’ll find Him in those places and if we’ll do, say, and become all He will ask of us when we get there. I’m honestly afraid to ask Him to show me the places that I’ve been where I didn’t seek Him and I surely didn’t find Him. Those memories would shatter my heart, so I’ve repented because I know His mercy covers my pride, blindness, and self-focus.

The promise so beautifully spoken in the Bible verse above is that we’ll know the way to the place where Jesus is going. That alone is a security we can build our days upon! But softly whispered to us from His heart is the drawing in that He longs for that we might dare to say yes today and not wait for eternity to enjoy Him inside of every room already filled with His glorious company and the riches of His great love.