Good morning, friends. The word of the day expresses what’s on my mind this morning: SPRING-CLEANING!
I don’t know about you, but everywhere I turn in my house, there is a project that needs my attention:
- A closet that is a mess.
- A drawer that is way too full.
- A file cabinet of music that needs to be re-organized.
- A pantry that needs to be cleaned out.
The list is long and seems never-ending. Can you relate? It sometimes is just overwhelming! (I mean, you know it’s bad when cleaning out a single drawer or a microwave makes you want to do a happy dance and then retire to the lounge chair for the rest of the day!) But, as I thought about all of this today, I realized that it is not just my house that needs a spring-cleaning. My life needs a spring-cleaning as well. Or maybe a better word for it would be a SOUL-CLEANING!
I have been stuffing things in my heart and filling up my time with more and more commitments, I can barely think any more! I am exhausted from the efforts to just maintain my life, let alone take on anything new. I have forgotten that blessed art described in Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that He is God.”
In recent days I have been reminded of a book I read many years ago called When You’re Running On Empty, by Cindi McMenamin. I pulled out the journal I wrote the first time I read this wonderful little book, as I literally drank in its message of hope. Included in this journal, which was written in April of 2009, 10 years ago this month, were notes from messages I had heard and Daily Bread articles I had read, as well as notes from a women’s retreat I had attended, focusing on Jonathan Edwards “Resolutions”, 70 commitments he made to live a life of faithfulness and personal holiness that would bring the most glory to God. Edwards states,
“Herein lies the key to our own resolve to live lives of holiness and obedience to God: understanding God’s Sovereign Grace!”
The question that haunted me at that retreat and has come to the forefront of my thinking in recent days is this: “How can I so arrange my life to make it easier to glorify God?” How can I order my life to best understand and live in His Sovereign Grace? Our retreat speaker, my dear friend, Jenny Strickland, made this observation about the concept of Profitability versus Productivity when she wisely stated,
More is not always better!
So, for the month of April, I am doing some soul-cleaning. I am re-assessing priorities and looking for ways to “so arrange my life” to bring God the most glory. I am not quite sure what that looks like yet on a day-to-day basis and I covet your prayers as I embark on this journey. (You may be seeing some repeat devotionals for the next few weeks.)
A line from a wonderful old hymn came to mind this morning:
“Are you washed in the blood, in the SOUL-CLEANSING blood of the Lamb?”
I need a fresh washing of that soul-cleansing blood today. I hope to be able to celebrate the small steps along the way and see some progress in my overall emotional and physical well-being that will inspire a spiritual “happy dance”. What about you? Do you need to do some soul-cleaning as well? Will you join me?
