✿ Spring Cleaning ✿

So spring is in the air!  Everything is turning vibrant shades of green, the birds are singing joyful songs and it is snowing pollen.  So you know what that means, other than taking allergy medicine, yep, you guessed it...Spring Cleaning.  My coe-worker and I cleaned our office the other day, there were mountains of stuff and thick layers of dust.  So we rolled up our sleeves, pulled out trash bags, gloves and brooms and got to work!  The process was long and messy and a little uncomfortable in spots but when all was said and done the office looked fantastic!!!  The office looked so much brighter when the lights where on and working in that space became easier without all of the distractions surrounding us.

This got me to thinking, "What else could use a little spring cleaning?"  Then it dawned on me, I knew a place that was accumulating dust, had numerous cob webs in the corners and piles of junk building up.  This was a perfect place to target for me next fit of spring cleaning; however, I had no idea where to start!  This place wasn't an office or a room in some apartment; it wasn't a closet that was going to explode when opened or a kitchen with dirty dishes.  All of the junk, dust and webs were accumulating inside of me!!!

My mind was in desperate need of defraging.  You know, when you run a diagnostic on your computer and all of the files are out of place and end up taking up more space then they really need to, well that is what the inside of my head felt like!  There were files out of place and some of the data was so old that it had been corrupted and need to be recycled.

My thoughts were running wild and I couldn't focus on what I really wanted to.  So I needed a plan of action!  It wasn't until I came across 2 Corinthians 10:5 that I realized how best to attack the mess that was in my mind...

"...and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 

Take Captive!  That's it!!!!  When you take something captive you don't just sweep it under the rug, you put it in chains and take it to your commanding officer!  So it was time to round up all of my stray thoughts, wrap them in chains and hand them over to Jesus!

I soon found out that this wasn't something that you just did once, but an almost every day occurrence.  We must always keep watch for those thoughts that need to be taken captive and handed over to Jesus.

GREAT!  One area cleaned, but there is still so much dirt and dust everywhere; now where do I start?

My passions and desires seemed like a good place!  I've realized over time that as the dust accumulated and the cob webs formed I lost the drive and passion to pursue the things in my life that I held most important, my walk with Jesus.  Don't get me wrong, I still knew I should be longing after Jesus with my whole heart, but I constantly found myself pushing what I knew was right out of the way and doing other things that monopolized my time instead.  My passions seemed to be switched, it wasn't that I was longing after bad things, but they became bad when they took priority over Jesus!

My prayer needed to become...

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." ~ Psalm 51:10

My heart drastically needed some spring cleaning!  I wanted my actions on the outside to reflect what was truly in my heart, so in order to have the right actions, my heart needed to be washed down with some serious soup and water!

"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.  People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers.  The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." ~ Luke 6:43-45

I had a passion and desire to be producing good fruit, not that I was producing fruit that was bad, but I would classify my fruit more as mediocre.  It looked good on the outside but inside it was a bit mealy.  I knew that this was something that only God could clean, so I did the only thing I could do, I handed Him the broom...

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." ~ Psalm 139:23-24

This verse directed me to the next area that needed some serious spring cleaning... My Ways.  In particular, my daily routine.  I had gotten really good at side stepping all of the clutter in my life instead of doing something about it.  I had made very neat and tidy paths through all of the dust and debris that had accumulated.

Over the years I had become very comfortable handing my long term plans of life over to God and letting Him direct my steps but when it came to my everyday walk, I really liked to take control.  I knew that this was the next area in my life that needed some elbow grease.

Hebrews 12:1 states that we should

"throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

I think that all of the piles of junk in my daily routine were weighing me down and hindering me from walking daily with Jesus.  For example: do I really need to play games on Facebook, watch that TV show or sleep an extra hour just because I can?  I constantly found myself laying in bed at the end of the day wishing that I had taken the time to spend a little more time with Jesus, or regretting the fact that I hadn't prayed more during the day.  But the only way to find the time is to make it a part of my routine.  Setting a new precedence that will grow into habit and become second nature.

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." ~ Proverbs 16:9

If I make it a plan and take the time to do so, I know that God will meet with me and direct my time spent with Him!

Saying all of this is one thing, but actually implementing them is something completely different!  So as I continue my Spring Cleaning, I know that I will find more dirt and dust than expected and occasionally stub my toe on piles of junk BUT I can't wait to see what it will look like when I've finished and the space shines the way it is supposed to and work is more productive and fruitful because there are less distractions, just as it was with my office!   

"Trust in the LORD with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." ~ Proverbs 3:5-6

2 Corinthians 10:3-6
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. 
Hebrews 10:22-25
let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscienceand having our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 
Hebrews 12:1-3
 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.