Is it time to purge?

Do you have stuff in your house you need to get rid of? Things that have been shoved to the back of the closet, put in the attic or hauled to the basement? We try and tell ourselves if we don’t see it then it isn’t really there, because we don’t want to take the necessary time to deal with it, to sort it out and purge what we don’t want or need.

Many times we try to bring new things into our lives without cleaning out the old. We find ourselves shifting things around, trying to make room for the new things we’ve acquired only to cram them in with everything else.

I’m the ultimate purger.  I can go through a room and weed out unnecessary stuff quickly.  While there’s a risk of throwing out something we need, I find the greater danger is being overtaken by all of the stuff we don’t need.

The same can apply to our lives spiritually.  We cannot open our lives up to all God has for us without cleaning our spiritual house and getting rid of things that don’t belong there.  It may be old habits that aren’t good for us or honoring to God.  It could also be bad thoughts or beliefs that don’t line up with who God says we are or what He says we’re capable of doing. I see this all the time when talking with a survivor of human sex trafficking. She doesn’t see herself as God sees her and she clings to all of the negative, hurtful things others have spoken about her and over her instead of embracing what the One who created her has to say.

He has great plans for us [Jeremiah 29:11].  When our thoughts don’t line up with His about us and our future, we need to start purging.

Louise Smith said,

You can’t reach for anything new if your hands are still full of yesterdays junk.”

God is all about taking our junk and giving us something new.  In Isaiah 61:3, we read of some of the trades God wants to make with us,

…a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”

The greatest trade He offers us is taking all of our sin and in return giving us eternal life [John 3:16, Romans 6:22].  It’s been called the Divine Exchange.

What are you holding on to?  Is there something in your life you need to let go of in order to embrace all God has for you? It’s never too early to start spring cleaning.