Staying in my Inner “House”

“Do not move about from one house to another.” // Luke 10:7

The sinking feeling in my stomach started as soon as I pressed “send.”

I had just said yes to another great opportunity—a way to share the Gospel, inspire women, use my gifts. But I was already overcommitted and on the edge of burnout. Previously, I had discerned that I needed to say no to more in order to make a better yes to the things which I knew for sure God had called me to: a deeper prayer life, attentiveness to my family, focus at work, and making real progress on the book I owed the publisher. 

As I regretfully closed my computer, I determined again to pay attention to the still, small voice inside that was growing more adamant in its request that I stay: stay focused, stay committed, and stay put in my current projects. I needed to stay in my inner “house.” 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the seventy-two as He sends them out that they are not to “move about from one house to another” (Luke 10:7). They are to establish deep relationships in each town and operate from a place of serenity and stability. I imagine, as they preached the Gospel, healed the sick, and drove out demons, that these men received invitations and requests to stay in many different houses. It would have been flattering but distracting from the work at hand. 

I often say: “If the devil can’t destroy you, he’ll dilute you.”

In our commitment to do great things for the God we love, we can neglect the necessary things—the things only we can do, our singular contributions to the Kingdom. And then the enemy wins. He steals our single-heartedness by dangling shiny—yet often in themselves very good—things in front of us. 

Sister, as we discern each yes or no, let’s listen to the Holy Spirit, Who gently reveals to us the parameters of our inner house and our personal calling and invites us to remain with Him there.