“I surrender all to You, Lord I trust You’ll see me through.”

I’ve heard the phrase, “God, have Your way in me” all of my life. It’s such a common phrase used within the Christian community and it’s always spoken with such passion and enthusiasm. As a person who still doesn’t fully understand this thing we call “life,” I’m constantly seeking out the deeper meaning in the details around me. So, I started to think: do I fully understand the significance of that statement? The very idea of God having His way in our lives can be overwhelming; at the same time, it can be calming. I never realized that I was looking for an answer to this question until a couple months ago when I found it in the form of a song.

As “Build this House” was being conceived, the concept of poetically comparing ourselves to houses became the focal point. The chorus firmly declares: “Come build this house and make it home.” Through writing these lyrics, I couldn’t help but realize that there is a very distinct difference between a house and a home. A house is built with four walls, a roof, and a foundation. It is fully capable of standing on its own, but that was never meant to be its sole purpose. It was designed to provide shelter, to become a sanctuary of refuge, and to be a place where we can find rest and regroup from the chaos of life. A house becomes a home when someone claims it as their own, puts their unique touch on it, and creates an atmosphere that goes beyond an outsider’s comprehension—an atmosphere full of love, joy, peace, safety. That’s what makes a home special and memorable. We’re all a work-in-progress. We know that we hold value as human beings and that we’re capable of accomplishing a lot on our own. But something special happens when we lay our lives down to the leading of the One who knows the entire framework of the future while we’re caught up in our present walls.

“Create Your architecture.”

When we ask God to have His way in our lives, it isn’t asking Him to do what we want; it’s letting the Lord direct our hearts towards His desires for us in our time here on Earth. Imagine the Father coming into our heart and making Himself at home. Picture the Holy One Himself walking through the doors of our inner home, dropping His bags and breathing a breath of ease. He doesn’t force Himself on us, but He makes His heart known that He wants to be connected with His creation. As He looks around the room, He doesn’t hold a single thought of judgement. Even in our mess, He doesn’t run out the door ashamed. He sees potential within the imperfect. As He begins to make room within this dwelling, we may begin to cringe and shutter as the things that we held onto so dearly begin to leave this space—distant memories of how things once were, or old habits that brought comfort but harmed us—they start to fade from the walls. Just when we begin to question if this was the right decision, we remember that we can trust in Him because He is the original architect after all. It’s in our surrendering when He begins to pull out of those bags the things we never saw inside of ourselves. The tools that we never knew we needed start to take their place. The gifts we never knew we were capable of owning begin to fill those empty spaces, and for once, the light begins to shine into these halls that were once filled with shadows. A process that we thought would tear us apart has in turn made us stronger than ever before. That’s what God wants to do in us.

For me, this song became an invitation into a deeper relationship with the One who knows me best; the One who has my best interests at heart. I pray that this song opens your eyes to new revelations of God Himself and leads you to a place of surrender to the good plans that He has for you as He transforms your house into His home.

– Joshua