I cleaned out my office desk this week. It was way past time for this. I must confess that I tend to be somewhat of a pack-rat. I keep old shoe-strings because one never knows when he may need to tie something up and need a shoe-string. Now that I think about it, I can’t remember ever using an old shoe-string for anything. Now I need to get rid of all those strings, which will call for a thorough garage cleaning. Oh my, what have I started?
Now, back to the point, I cleaned my desk out and found mounds of stuff. There were out-dated snacks, financial statements from two years ago, reports, research, and notes that I have no idea how or why they found their way to my desk drawer and scrap paper that I vaguely remember putting there because it’s much too valuable to just throw away.
My point is this, far too often I allow what happened to my desk to take place in my heart. I unconsciously allow stuff to pile up, a hurt here, an injury there, a harsh word, a lingering thought, anger held much too long. The expiration date was yesterday. It is here that seeds of bitterness find fertile ground to root themselves in and before we know it there absolutely no room for calm, order, peace, joy of having a clean heart (Read Psalm 51). Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
Heart cleaning is something I am spiritually committed to doing regularly. I have too much to lose by allowing unnecessary stuff to clutter my heart. The “stuff” I mentioned is sin that must be confessed and forsaken and treated like we would treat garbage.
After cleaning out my desk, I looked at the overflowing trash can and the clean drawers and a smile of satisfaction came across my face “this feels good, I can’t believe I allowed all this to pile up.” Those feelings can’t begin to compare to what we experience when we have a “heart cleaning.”
Give it a try. You might be very surprised at what you find tucked away in your heart
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