Friday Fight 164: Our Spiritual Storage

Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help me fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF165.

Every year around this time, the transition from school ending to summer projects initiates a summer clean-up. I am sorting through all the extra things I have stored "just in case" I needed them in my classroom. Regardless of the place, different seasons warrant storing other things. But storing can also be a hindrance, especially regarding spiritual aspects we don't realize we're holding onto.

Our Spiritual Storage:

Have you ever wondered how many of us use a particular time of year to declutter our homes and donate items we no longer use? My family, for instance, finds joy in blessing people with things we no longer use and, thankfully, have received needed items in return. What about those of us who lack the energy or understanding of how to begin decluttering? This concept is good but more challenging to apply to our spiritual lives. Before we ask ourselves if our house or closets are overflowing, it is always a good time to look at our spiritual storage and the things we're carrying around that could hinder our spiritual growth. A verse I love and often include in my prayers is found in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

When we approach the task of decluttering our hearts with the same determination we use to declutter our homes, we can recognize and break free from defensive patterns. For instance, if my husband suggests getting rid of something, I might counter with a valid reason to keep it. Emotional wounds can be just as insidious. We might rationalize holding onto past hurts while pursuing new things that we hope will fill a void we're not allowing God to fill. Imagine the freedom when we release these burdens! When our homes are filled with too much stuff, the clutter spills over into other areas of our lives. We're constantly shifting, reorganizing, or redistributing as it accumulates. When we carry guilt and shame, we justify holding onto these sins while burying ourselves in new things to temporarily alleviate our pains. Although, we can surrender our sins and relish the space it creates for new and restorative experiences.

The unfortunate thing about junk is we can hide it, store it, or place it in shiny new organizational pieces of furniture. However, at the end of the day, it is still junk and sin is still sin. We pretend to move on with our lives while walking right by it. This is not the love of Christ overflowing into other areas; it is spiritual contamination. Therefore, asking God to remove what does not belong cannot be seasonal; it has to be a daily surrender, or we will eventually be like those who pay for storage units. Instead of walking around our hurts, hiding them, or paying a storage fee to the enemy of our souls, let us face these sins by owning them, asking for forgiveness, and leaving them at the foot of the cross. Christ has already paid the price of our freedom.

Photo Credit: Michele LaSala

Pastor Shannon

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