"Create in me a clean heart, Oh God..." Psalms 51:10a
We recently moved from a townhome in the Twin Cities to a quiet home tucked in a bed of birch trees about an hour North of our old swarming stomp grounds. We love our quiet spot...but boy does it take some effort to move from point A to point B!
It always amazes me how much stuff we have tucked in drawers and corners of closets--things that we don't even use. I began the purging process months before the move--selling and throwing and giving away the clutter. And it seems as if the layers of clutter was just so deep--attachments to things like old shoes that I might wear again, cute cards from loved ones, clothing years too small for my son, and the list goes on. I feel lighter when I finally part ways with the clutter but sometimes feels like little pinches along the way. My internal process often sounds a little like this, "Do I keep that old purse that I loved for so many years but never use? Oh that sweater is so cute--I think I'd wear it again. I'll just use that set of mugs for company..." and the dialogue continues. Sound familiar to any spring cleaners out there?!?
And sometimes, I think our internal selves can be a lot like our external world before spring cleaning time. We may allow clutter to fill the closets of our hearts. Painful memories pushed to the side to pull out "another time." Anger shoved in a junk drawer. Regret, guilt and shame hiding in a box under the stairs. Storage rooms filled with grief, sorrow and disappointments from un-met expectations. Fear of the future and wounds of the past hangs in the dark closet in the spare room. Dust balls of doubt are curled up in corners. Unconfessed sin like a growing pile of dirty clothes. The task of sorting through such a heart seems overwhelming and almost too big to take on. In fact it is...for us. But that task is just what our Heavenly Father specializes in! Like a specialty cleaning service--He comes I'm with His cleaning supplies and with great skill and precision, knows just where to start. Even so, He has to be invited to do His job! Merry Maids don't show up ready to wax floors unless they are called to come over! Same thing with the Lord--He is there ready and waiting for us to call on His heart cleaning service and He will not delay!
King David in Psalms 51 was talking to the Lord about the status of his own heart. He had just plotted murder, had an affair and began to see the depth of his own need for God. He recognized that he couldn't do this cleaning task on his own. Sin got him into that mess and only God could free him and clean his heart. "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow." (Psalm 51:7). He knew that it wasn't his own good works, his status as King or even a counseling session with his wise advisors that would result in a changed life. He went right to the source. And we can too! Whether we have sin lurking in the shadows or emotional pain from wounds afflicted by others, we can find healing in the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ! He died on the cross for our sins--to give us a new life! Isaiah 53:5 says, "...He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed." The cleaning of our hearts starts at salvation! In fact, according to Strongs*, the Greek word for salvation "SOZO" is a word that means "to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction one (from injury or peril);
to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health; to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue; to save in the technical biblical sense; to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment;
to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance."
As we enter into covenant relationship with our Heavenly Father God ("Abba"-an intimate name like "Daddy") through His son Jesus Christ (Yeshua-His Hebrew name), we recieve Salvation! We get all that SOZO! This is a cleansing that we can recieve daily, hour by hour, minute by minute! Don't get me wrong-we don't have to confess last year's sins over and over-- if my junk drawer gets cleaned out & I don't put more junk there--it is clean!
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. A pastor friend recently said, lConfessed sin is forgiven sin!" Time in God's healing presence results in what? You guessed it--healing! Restoration ! Freedom!
Once that clutter in my old house was cleaned up in the winter, it was much easier to move into the new house God had for us in the spring!
I believe it is a new season for all of those who allow God to unclutter their hearts. It starts by simply asking God to come and lead us into that process. If you want God to come and do as King David asked, I invite you to simply start by praying something like this, "God I can't clean up my heart or life on my own. I need Your help. I admit the condition of my heart and life is beyond human help and I invite Jesus Christ to come into my heart as my Savior and cleanse it from all sin. Bring healing to my mind, will and emotions through the power of the Holy Spirit. Forgive me for trying to be good without your help. Forgive me for trying to be______(fill in the blank) without your help. Clean out the nooks and crannies of my heart and life and help me as I walk through the process of living free each day. Fill me with Your Spirit so that those empty places in my heart are occupied only by You Lord. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
Just like it takes time to clean out a storage space, so it takes time to let God clean out our hearts. Here are some practical ways to help you in this process. I'll use the word "CLEAN" to help you remember!
C-Confess. Confess daily to God sinful attitudes, thoughts and behaviors.
L-Learn. Continue to grow and learn from God's Word how to live free.
E-Express.Tell others about Jesus and the joy of knowing Him! Express your love to God through time with Him, singing to Him, talking to Him (prayer).
A-Accountability. Find some Christian friends who can encourage you & pray with you.
N-No clutter! Continue to offer your heart to God each day--don't allow clutter of unforgiveness, bitterness, pride, anger, hurt, etc. to crowd your heart.
Start today if you haven't already and get ready for your new season!!!
Love,
Ginger
*http://m.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/sozo.html
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