Lately, I've been cleaning out my office. It's amazing (and disappointing) how much stuff accumulates in such a short time. Once I'm through carrying out bags of junk, and vacuuming and dusting, I'll have neater, more functional space. All the stuff I need will be close by making it easier and faster to accomplish what I need to each day.
It's not just my living spaces that need periodic cleaning- my hearts does, too. I know I've picked up a lot of junk- a box of frustration there, a folder or two of fear stacked on the bookcase, a bad attitude cluttering up my workspace. Sometimes things like joy and peace are hard to find underneath all that other mess, (I know they're in here somewhere… I remember bringing 'em in and putting them right over there by that big pile of doubt…)
For a packrat like me, determining what needs to go is often a challenge, but in the right mood, I can toss out with the best of them. However, when it comes to de-junking my heart, I need outside help.
I have to rely on God and His word to identify the junk in the first place. (Search me, O God… and see if there be any wicked way in me. Ps. 139:23)
I have to make the effort to let go of the stuff. (Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us… Heb. 12:2)
Finally, I need Him to vacuum and clean out the place, so He has room to work. (Create in me a clean heart, O God… Ps 51:10)
Therefore if anyone cleanses himself… he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master 2 Timothy 2:21
Yeah…I get sentimental sometimes, but I also get aggravated with how much junk I had (like in my attic, nightmare!). But, after it's clean, it's easier to keep clean and you enjoy it more. I think that's what you were getting with with the heart being clean. Thanks for the post!