I Will Make Room For You
by: Carolyn Purcell
November 19, 2025
“But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image”
Over the past few months, the Holy Spirit has continued to impress upon me His call to a life fully surrendered to Him. As I look in the rear view mirror, upon a seemingly respectable life, I realize so much of it has been filled with striving and straining, self-effort; agendas and checklists, the desire to please or impress others; and achieve “success” in the eyes of the world. I recall many decisions made from a place of fear, anxiety, insecurity, pragmatism, or a reliance on worldly wisdom. There were a few times when I made life choices out of convenience or “responsibility” that were in contradiction to what I felt prompted by the Spirit to do. The burden to carry all these things, to make choices, and to navigate this broken world on our own is not a burden the Lord desires for His children. That is why He gave us a Helper, the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity: to help and comfort, to teach and advocate, and to guide us into all truth. In John 16, the Lord tells us:
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you” (NIV, John 16:13-15).
So, we do not need to carry a bag of rocks and struggle at each decision point. Rather, He tells us “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). I am restoring and re-cultivating a walk with the Holy Spirit in my life, so I know that I know His voice and obediently follow His call. This can only be achieved through full surrender to the Spirit, our Helper and Guide here on earth (John 14:26). He will sometimes prompt us to move or to act in ways that won’t make sense to the world. May we obediently and courageously heed His call anyway.
The Holy Spirit is one of God’s most precious gifts to us, His children. We cultivate an ear for the Spirit’s voice by making room for Him in our lives through time in the Word, prayer, maintaining an intentional awareness of His presence throughout the day, and establishing a rhythm of reliance upon and obedience to Him. As we do, He makes us sensitive to the things of God and provides understanding about the situations, circumstances and relationships in our lives.
I recently watched Erika Kirk accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom on behalf of her husband, Charlie Kirk. While Charlie championed freedom in America, he knew that true freedom is only found in the heart of a man fully surrendered to God and fully reliant on the Holy Spirit to teach and guide him. While I knew Charlie’s Christian faith undergirded his life, I didn’t realize how often he said things like “I’m far more interested in what God wants from me than what I want from God” and “My prayer is very simple: God, use me for Your will.” One of Charlie’s favorite Hebrew words from the Bible was “Hineni”, meaning “Here I am Lord. Send me.” When one invokes the term Hineni, it demonstrates a heart posture of complete submission to serve the Lord and embrace His call on your life, just as Abraham (Genesis 22:1-19), Moses (Exodus 3:1-4), Samuel (1 Samuel 3:4-5), and Isaiah (Isaiah 6:8) did. Charlie knew the key to remaining surrendered and walking in obedience and freedom was to abide in the Lord. It is only when we remain connected to the Spirit that we have freedom and a “light yoke,” allowing His life to flow through us. When we abide, we flourish. When we remove ourselves from the vine and go our own way, we do not flourish, experience freedom, or bear fruit. We will never regret a life fully surrendered in obedience to the Holy Spirit.
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, it is he that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (ESV, John 15:4-6).
Prayer
Holy Father, I surrender my fears and desires, my failures and regrets, my heart and mind, and my will and emotions to You. You are the Potter and I am the clay and I will make room for You to do whatever You want to in my life. Use me, my gifts, and life experiences to serve You and accomplish Your plans and purposes for my life. Help me be dependent on and walk in closer communion with You, Holy Spirit, so that I respond in obedience to Your voice as soon as I hear it. Holy Spirit, forgive me when I have grieved You, through busyness, distractions, willful disobedience, or sin. Fill me with a fresh revelation of what it means to live life fully surrendered to You.
Worship: Make Room
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Over the past few months, the Holy Spirit has continued to impress upon me His call to a life fully surrendered to Him. As I look in the rear view mirror, upon a seemingly respectable life, I realize so much of it has been filled with striving and straining, self-effort; agendas and checklists, the desire to please or impress others; and achieve “success” in the eyes of the world. I recall many decisions made from a place of fear, anxiety, insecurity, pragmatism, or a reliance on worldly wisdom.