Spring Cleaning by Nina Keegan

I recently and with great caution opened the door to my storage closet with the best of intentions to do my,"spring cleaning" I took one look inside at the cardboard boxes, bags of who knows what, a plethora of abandoned "tchotchkes" of every fathomable persuasion, you know, the things I haven't even seen in a couple years, all that 'stuff' I couldn't possibly live without, "sigh". Overwhelmingly I declared, "This is not happening today!" So, I promptly closed the door and declared my spring cleaning officially finished! 

Out of site, out of mind!

We tend to stuff things away that we think we need to hold on to, " just in case!" We essentially become bogged down with weighty, old inventory. We stuff it all in there, we cram it down until alas the door can finally close it all off to the world. We never have to face it again until we perhaps grab hold, once again to the guilt laden, spring cleaning self talk!

Our minds are so much like those over stuffed messy closets.

What do we stuff away in those closets deep in our thoughts? What is crammed in weighing down our our hearts, emotions, our souls?

 There is so much abandoned but not forgotten junk we should not be holding on to in those dusty corners of our mind. They are often over flowing with pain, deep hurt, un-forgiveness, regret,guilt, and bitterness. Or perhaps your closet is lined with approval addiction, fear of punishment, fear of failure, self disqualification, trauma, grief and loss.

 Pain is the place where we can always meet authentically with God. He knows where you are who has hurt you and why and He is never surprised by what's in your closet. We cannot hide anything from God.

  Enough is enough! It is time to clean house and let everything go. It is time to make God your priority over your pain. The Bible says we are to have and enjoy our lives every day no matter what's going on. We can still experience joy with Jesus regardless of our circumstances.

God wants to meet you right there, in your closet. God wants to be the light in the darkness and restore you on every level.

2 Cor 4:6

For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

What have you endured for the sake of peace?  What have you stuffed down because the process of letting go and healing can be so painful? 

Pain brings up what's really at the core of who we are. It pushes us past faking things for the sake of avoiding conflict. 

When we are face to face with the pain, which bin will we finally place it in? 

 Sometimes it is easier to hang on to the hurt by stuffing it down and closing it off then it is to actually let it go by trusting it all to Jesus? 

It's time to let loose and let go of your obligation of pretending everything is OK!

It's OK to clear out your fear of disappointment. There is nothing more universal than this, but God is in charge!  He is on the throne and it is God's mission to help you clean up, clear out, and declutter your life. 

 He wants you to be a spotless, wiped clean, empty vessel, ready to be filled with His glorious power and purpose for your life.

2 Timothy 2:21

Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

All we have to do is seek Him, "God where are you in this?"

He's is never not where you are! 

Even through the pain God is always good. He is always working out a testimony in us that ultimately brings us confidence in who He is! Being in the war with God( bringing Him into our mess), gives us a clear path to His promise of restoration.

 This makes it abundantly clear that our victory is always from God, not from ourselves. 

 It is time to get real with God whereby we confidently learn of His credibility as we experience His fullness in the trenches.

Go into your closet, meet God there! It's finally time for some spring cleaning! God is waiting for you!

Matthew 6:6

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.