Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a pure heart, God, and make my spirit right again.”
There is one thing I don't like around my home: a room full of clutter. Yes, there are times the rooms are messier than I like, but clutter? I have always said there's a place for everything and everything has a place. When I clean a room, I have it organized enough so everything is tucked away with no clutter, but clutter still happens. Up until about six months ago all five of my family members still lived under our roof. Everyone was coming and going, and things easily piled up. Now that my oldest is on her own things are a bit less intense but there is still four of us here and clutter happens. Once a week I do a good cleaning but if I don't keep up with the small things throughout the week, the clutter begins. Have you also noticed when the house is cluttered, you're easily distracted? It's hard to focus on important things when you're distracted by the mess and know you should take care of it.
It's not just our home that could use cleaning either. The clutter can be emotional, mental, even spiritual things. We might have some fears, bitterness, anger, self-pity, self-interests, resentment, even un-forgiveness that has been built up overtime. If we don't find time to declutter, we will soon become distracted from doing important things like making time with God.
Jesus wants us to let go of those things and spend time with him- Ephesians 4:31-32 “Do not be bitter or angry or mad. Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others. Never do anything evil. Be kind and loving to each other and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.” Isaiah 43:18 “The Lord says, “Forget what happened before, and do not think about the past.” It's time to clear the clutter of unimportant things and find those quiet moments with God with no distractions. It is in those times we can learn to be all God wants us to be. With each new important thing you add to your life get rid of two unimportant things that are holding you back- Ephesians 4:23-24 “But you were taught to be made new in your hearts, to become a new person. That new person is made to be like God—made to be truly good and holy.”
Have you ever spent time when winter ends or summer ends clearing out your closet of clothes? We like to get rid of winter and all that it brings with it and also to freshen up things for summer. Then comes fall, we do fall preparation for winter.
One thing I have done, especially when my children were smaller and ever growing, is clothes recall. Each spring we would go through their clothes and give away the winter clothes they had outgrown and pull out the summer clothes. If they outgrew some of those too, we’d give them away along with other clothes. Then, again in the fall we’d go through the school clothes and give away what they couldn’t wear anymore or didn’t want because tastes would continually change. Now that they are older, I don’t go through their clothes, but they still go through them a couple times a year. It’s like out with the old and in with the new.
Spring and fall cleaning remind me of our habits. Just like clothes, we get comfortable in our habits and find ourselves “wearing” them easily. Some habits are good like devotion time with God, prayer, “wearing” the fruits of the Spirit. Other habits we form take us away from God. In order to get rid of our bad habits, especially those that form over time, we need to do a little spring/fall cleaning. Out with the old and in with the new.
In time those good habits will fit just right, and we will want to “wear” them all of the time. Be careful, as we continue to allow God in our lives, building our characters to be like Him, we will grow. Sometimes in the growing we again will have to do some cleaning and put on the newer armor of God that He has prepared for us to wear.
So next time you do a little spring/fall cleaning remember to also look at yourself and see if there’s any cleaning needing to be done in your heart. God is great and will always be with us in all the choices that help us continue to grow in Him. Enjoy your cleaning!
I found this prayer and thought it was fitting for us wanting to declutter our lives with the negative things in it. It’s called The Knots Prayer
Dear God,
Please untie the knots in my mind,
my heart and my life.
Remove the have nots,
the can nots, and the do nots
that I have in my mind.
Erase the will nots,
may nots,
might nots that may find
a home in my heart.
Release me from the could nots,
would nots and
should nots that obstruct my life.
And most of all,
Dear God,
I ask that you remove from my mind,
my heart and my life all of the “am nots”
that I have allowed to hold me back,
especially the thought that
I am not good enough.
Amen
As we continue our study through 1 Corinthians I hope you are finding some new things maybe never seen before or are seeing them in a new light. Taking time out of each day to spend a little more with Jesus than just a quick devotional or prayer can be so encouraging and uplifting and Jesus loves when we take time with Him away from this crazy world. He loves to hear from you and show you wonderful things because you are His friend. Let's continue with 1 Corinthians 14:1-19.
Study 21: 1 Corinthians 14:1-19- https://www.docdroid.net/Mb6Ob9z/1-corinthians-study-21-docx
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