Clearing Out The Clutter
A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
(Ecclesiastes 3:6)
Recently I’ve been looking over a few spots in my home to see how I can organize it better. To be honest, I hate clutter. When something comes into our home, I try to make sure I remove something else so we can avoid having so much that it becomes clutter. This also requires us to put things back where they belong. After 21 years as a military family, we’ve had to learn to go through our household goods to make sure we make weight when they come to move us so we do not have to pay extra for our move. So we’ve had some experience on deciding what to keep and what to let go of. Periodically, however, things do accumulate and get out of place and I have to reorganize and look through our things to see what really needs to stay and what needs to go, and how to organize it more efficiently.
I have found that as I get older, it becomes harder for me to part with things. Much of it is for sentimental purposes, but for some people there are other reasons. Sometimes you receive a gift and though you may not use it much, you hate to part with it because it came from a friend, a loved one or a special occasion, or you feel you may need it in the future though you don’t use it now. Sometimes you may have something passed down from a loved one and because that loved one meant a lot to you and that item was used often, you keep it to remind yourself of the good times you had with them. There are even times people hate to part with things simply because they did not have much when they were younger and it brings them a sense of security. Whatever the reason, there are times clutter can become a problem not just in our homes, but within ourselves and removing something from either area can cause a feeling of fear and dread for some and therefore they will hold on tighter to things they need to let go of.
23 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. 24 Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being. (1 Corinthians 10:23-24)
As the scripture says, there is a time to keep and a time to cast away. Though we have the freedom to do what we want and to have what we want, not all things are good for us nor do they edify us. Sometimes the abundance of things we hold onto can not only harm ourselves but do harm to those around us and it can be a form of idolatry. Maybe it’s not physical things but emotional baggage that we hold onto. Maybe you went through a difficult season of life and you are holding onto the pain from it. You may not think it affects those around you but it does. You may have surrendered a lot of it to the Lord but sometimes you can keep just a little bit of it to make sure you do things differently this time around and you don’t fall into the same situation again. Though it’s good to be cautious, we sometimes fail to see that by keeping even a little bit of that clutter within us, it’s enough for the enemy to dig into in order to open up the wound even more and utilize it. By holding onto it, we are controlling which way we go instead of allowing God to be in control. By holding onto it, our vision becomes distorted and unclear and the direction we think we should be going in may not be the right direction after all. Sometimes we may charge full speed ahead and sometimes we may hold back more than we should, unaware of the traps that await us. We must surrender everything to the Lord and cut loose the clutter within us so we can spiritually see more clearly and hear the Lord more clearly.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. (Jeremiah 10:23)
Whatever you are holding onto, take today to surrender it to the Lord and surrender it daily until it is gone. Ask Him to replace it with what He sees is good for you and also with His fruit of the spirit.