Daily Devotional

UGH, I have ignored this walk-in kitchen supply closet long enough. Whenever I try to find something, an item crashes onto the floor. I stuff it anywhere it can fit. Balanced on the edge, it is ready to fall the next time I enter! It’s like I have set booby traps for myself every time I put something away in that closet!

I have attempted to start to do this cleaning job many times—only to remember gleefully something like… “I really need to check on my chickens.”  I purposefully distract myself with another task until I thankfully forget all about my supply closet.  I am saved! Until the next time I need something in the closet, I walk into my trap, and something crashes to the floor.

Onward to the battle! I take everything out of the closet to sort, purge and clean. I cannot believe how much stuff fits in there! Dirt, clutter, spills, even pieces of broken glass—go figure. Three hours later, I am done. My closet is clean. Later that day I laugh at myself when I realize I just opened the supply closet door—not needing anything—just looking. What a thing of beauty. I want to soak up the vision because I know it will get messy soon enough.

My supply closet inspires me to think about our hearts. Sometimes our hearts get messy and cluttered with smelly sin, anger, fear, unresolved conflict, and unforgiveness. Frankly, a musty stench can waft from those hidden spaces in our hearts. God prompts us to clean out our hearts. Sometimes we resist for a while—not wanting to face the facts. It’s painfully hard work. God’s pressure wins out and we tackle the ugly, messy heart closet.
 
I remind us of some familiar “cleansing verses.”

Psalm 51:2 “…cleanse me from my sin.”
Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God.”
I Corinthians 5:7 “Clean out the old leaven (i.e. our sinful ways).”
Hebrews 10:22 speaks of “having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience.”

Our spiritual spring cleaning requires we stop being satisfied with the clutter in our hearts. In the ancient words of Proverbs 16:2,3 “All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives. Commit your works to the Lord…”

The time for a “deep spiritual cleaning” is now. Let’s get to work!
 
PARENTS & GRANDPARENTS:

• The next time you help your kids clean their room, talk about how sometimes our hearts can become sinful, angry, fearful, jealous, etc. Just like we are now cleaning your room, we need to clean out our hearts from time to time.
• Share with your kids how you clean out your heart: prayer, confession, memorizing Scripture, and Christian music.
• Remind your kids that the “closet” of their hearts should be cleaned regularly.

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation