The Wonder of Where God Moves In

Rachel Britton

5 years ago

God moves into the dirtiest and most squalid lives, and sets up home.

We climbed the steps from the subway station at Sham Shui Po on Hong Kong’s subway.

The unmoving sticky air hung heavy with the odor of noodles and spicy chicken.

People moved in all directions, except for a beggar. His wheelchair blocked the exit. A fingerless hand held out an empty plastic tub.

A man squatted beside a market stall. Bare feet caked with dirt and black toenails encrusted with grime, they had not seen shoes for a long time.

“Cheap, copy Rolex” shouted a stallholder, his voice barely audible over the noise of traffic. He held out a watch as I walked past.

Cigarette ends, paper, plastic bottles, and four abandoned massage chairs littered the pavement.

This is Hong Kong’s poorest neighborhood. Yet, it is also where my daughter’s college has a campus.

Savannah College of Art and Design adorns this shabby, smelly, and crowded area. The abandoned North Kowloon Magistracy is now classrooms and offices. Students sit in a former courtroom on polished wooden benches facing the lecturer in the dock.

SCAD has a reputation for moving into run down areas and revitalizing them. It is the same in Savannah, Georgia, Disused motels are student residences, and deserted warehouses are high-tech studios.

What SCAD has done in Kowloon and Savannah reminds me of what God does for us.

“I’ll set up my residence in your neighborhood;” he says, “I won’t avoid or shun you; I’ll stroll through your streets. I’ll be your God; you’ll be my people.”

When our hearts are frayed and needy, God moves in. When our lives are a mess and full of debris, God sets up home. When our our thoughts are dark and dirty, God digs in.

And there, God does what he knows best, he transforms us.

He cleans up our hearts.

He brings hope to our lives.

He revitalizes our thoughts.

He brings new life.

Are you ready to let God move into whatever chaotic and unpleasant situation you are facing?

God longs to move into ramshackle lives and restore them.

God, I’m so thankful you don’t avoid me when things are their ugliest. I invite you to move in and remodel, reshape, and rebuild the run-down areas of my life that are ________________________. Amen.

When our hearts are at their shabbiest and poorest, God moves in and transforms them.

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