Lord, Declutter My Heart
Life lessons from cleaning out my closet.
I find it interesting that when I’m engaged in a physical task of some kind that’s when my mind does some of its busiest work. I don’t know about you, but that is absolutely how it is for me!
For instance, recently I have been doing the challenging work of sorting and decluttering all of our old clothes, baby items, and old hobby stuff that has been compiling for over ten years. Needless to say, I do not have an insta worthy space at the moment. 👀
When I’m working on something like this, my heart and mind make little parallels to what I am doing with my hands… Life is filled with so many illustrations… maybe that’s why Jesus spoke in pictures and parables.
I am decluttering my stuff, but Lord, declutter my heart.
What always seems like I could knock out in a few hours ends up taking days! But I can’t expect thirteen years of accumulating to be fixed overnight.
Much like how I can’t expect over thirty years of habits and heart tendencies to disappear in an instant.
There’s a process. A digging out. A spiritual sorting and letting go.
Throwing away the trash (personal examples: negative thinking, self pity, complaining and grumbling) and making space for peace, forgiveness, contentment, and grace.
What’s in your heart that has been taking up too much space for years? Is it time to get your hands dirty and seek the Lord on helping clean out those deep, hidden corners where clutter has taken over? What could that clutter be? Old habits, sinful patterns, tendencies, past hurts that you have held onto and it all has become so normal and every day that you don’t even notice anymore….
Perhaps it could be:
complaining
gossip
envy
vanity
slothfulness
self critical thoughts
unforgiveness
bitterness
…. Fill in the blank.
Decluttering my home makes me feel so free. I suddenly feel able to breathe. While I am not in a hurry to fill my space back up, I know that when I’m ready to purchase something new it will be with the most intentional, carefully thought out mindset. No more clutter. No more junk.
So it goes with filling the home of your heart with what gives life. Gives freedom. Provides peace. Seek to make space for whatever goodness the Lord would have for you.
What does decluttering your heart look like? It looks like surrendering your all to the Lord, confessing sin and turning to Jesus, receiving HIS grace and new morning mercies. It looks like asking him to search your heart and reveal to you where you need His help. (Psalm 139:23-24)
Making Room
Once we identify, confess, and accept God’s grace over our pesky heart clutter, we now have room to fill our mental space with good things. Scripture, psalms, encouragement, thanksgiving, community….
One day I just got super fed up with how things were going in our home. It had been building for awhile and I couldn’t take it anymore… something had to give. So I started the process, no matter how long or painful it would be. I think that’s what happened with my heart too. Some of my complaining or grumbling became so commonplace internally or even out loud that I just couldn’t take it anymore. It was time to take out that trash.
Of course all of this is by his grace. I would never want to steer you into the direction that the Christian faith is about acting and doing to earn a more peaceful life. This is not just a caveat, it is everything. The journey you are on is so held by the God of the universe who cares for you and is doing a good work in you. He says he will carry it through. He is the one who reveals. He is the one who provides the strength. If your eyes are on him, he’s the one decluttering your heart. Run to him. Confess what needs confessed. And then let him help you up and carry on again.
He declutters hearts and can declutter yours.
I know it to be true, because he did it for me. ❤️
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
Getting in the Word: I love how Ephesians helps us make sense of what I am trying to get at with the language of “putting off and putting on” (I don’t have space to provide the whole passage, but definitely read through Ephesians for further study in exchanging the old for what is new and good).
Thank you for reading today. Talk soon. -Sarah ☕️
