Clutter-Free!
Sometimes you just have to clean house. I don't mean do the dishes or sweep. I mean CLEAN OUT the house. Clear out the things that are simply taking up space and not serving any purpose. That souvenir cup we've never used that occupies a space in my cabinet. Kid's clothes that are two sizes too small still stuffed in the drawers. A kitchen utensil I've had for ten years that I'm still not even sure what I'm supposed to do with. I keep it purely because a relative said it belonged to a grandmother of the family. Ugh!
Besides the cluttered feeling I get, what really bothers me about holding onto things like this is the fact that I have no room for anything new. I don't even entertain the idea because I say, "But we have no room for it." I confess that there are even new things tucked away in my attic that I'm not using simply because I have no where to put them in the house. So, I must assess and make room.
I imagine God understands this cluttered dilemma when dealing with human hearts. He has so many wonderful things to fill us with. But when He first comes to us with His gifts of Love, He finds a 'house' that is full and has no room for His love. They are full of what the Bible calls 'the love of the world'. And when you are cluttered with the love of the world, there is no room for your Father to make His Home there.
Here's what 1 John says (in three different versions):
Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world - wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important - has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out - but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. 1 John 2:15-17 MSG
“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”
1 John 2:15-17 NLT
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
I John 2:15-17 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/1jn.2.15-17.nkjv
God does not condemn us for our cluttered hearts. He is a patient House Cleaner. But if you have said yes to a relationship with God, you can anticipate from Day One that God is going to get to work and start making space for His Love in your life. He's going to start picking things up from around your 'house' that are squeezing His Love out. He does this because He loves us and knows that all this cluttered junk we have in us is not going to give us Life and make us Fruitful.
And be prepared. There may be some big items in your 'home' that He may want to put out on the curb for pick up. One of the first things God cleaned out in my life was a boyfriend that was not going to be good for me in the long term. He was a nice guy, but he was not following Jesus. God knew if I continued on with this guy, there would slowly be less and less space in my 'house' for Him and it would squeeze out the love of the Father. And so I painfully agreed with God to let go of that item in my 'house'. It was the hardest thing for me to do. But in doing that, it opened up more space in me for Him to fill with His perfect will and I soon found the man of my dreams that loves the Lord! We will be married 16 years in May.
Remember, when God cleans us out, it's always with the intention of filling us with something new and something better. Don't let the devil and the world lie to you. God doesn't remove things to hurt us and make us feel punished. He removes them because He knows they are like parasites inside us that occupy and consume any kind of Kingdom purpose in our lives.
So, let God make room. Let Him begin to sort through the clutter of your 'home' and make more space for His Love. Let Him handle the big as well as the little items in your life. And remember, it's going to take time. Probably a lifetime. But the more willing you are to let go, the more decluttering He can do. And remember, He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6). He won't stop until we are clutter-free!
Besides the cluttered feeling I get, what really bothers me about holding onto things like this is the fact that I have no room for anything new. I don't even entertain the idea because I say, "But we have no room for it." I confess that there are even new things tucked away in my attic that I'm not using simply because I have no where to put them in the house. So, I must assess and make room.
I imagine God understands this cluttered dilemma when dealing with human hearts. He has so many wonderful things to fill us with. But when He first comes to us with His gifts of Love, He finds a 'house' that is full and has no room for His love. They are full of what the Bible calls 'the love of the world'. And when you are cluttered with the love of the world, there is no room for your Father to make His Home there.
Here's what 1 John says (in three different versions):
Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world - wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important - has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out - but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. 1 John 2:15-17 MSG
“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”
1 John 2:15-17 NLT
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
I John 2:15-17 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/1jn.2.15-17.nkjv
God does not condemn us for our cluttered hearts. He is a patient House Cleaner. But if you have said yes to a relationship with God, you can anticipate from Day One that God is going to get to work and start making space for His Love in your life. He's going to start picking things up from around your 'house' that are squeezing His Love out. He does this because He loves us and knows that all this cluttered junk we have in us is not going to give us Life and make us Fruitful.
And be prepared. There may be some big items in your 'home' that He may want to put out on the curb for pick up. One of the first things God cleaned out in my life was a boyfriend that was not going to be good for me in the long term. He was a nice guy, but he was not following Jesus. God knew if I continued on with this guy, there would slowly be less and less space in my 'house' for Him and it would squeeze out the love of the Father. And so I painfully agreed with God to let go of that item in my 'house'. It was the hardest thing for me to do. But in doing that, it opened up more space in me for Him to fill with His perfect will and I soon found the man of my dreams that loves the Lord! We will be married 16 years in May.
Remember, when God cleans us out, it's always with the intention of filling us with something new and something better. Don't let the devil and the world lie to you. God doesn't remove things to hurt us and make us feel punished. He removes them because He knows they are like parasites inside us that occupy and consume any kind of Kingdom purpose in our lives.
So, let God make room. Let Him begin to sort through the clutter of your 'home' and make more space for His Love. Let Him handle the big as well as the little items in your life. And remember, it's going to take time. Probably a lifetime. But the more willing you are to let go, the more decluttering He can do. And remember, He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6). He won't stop until we are clutter-free!
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