Are You Clutter Free?

by Nancy Kay Grace

Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and test my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me the way everlasting.  Psalm 139:23-24 NIV

 My desk had become a catch-all of books, papers, and notes. My laptop sat on top of layers of papers. It was time to clear it off, again. The task seemed huge. Taking a deep breath, I picked up a large paper sack to attack the piles and regain workspace.

Soon the sack was full, and I felt a sense of accomplishment.

I carried it from one end of the house to the other, to dump it in the kitchen trash can. The flimsy handles of the paper sack were no match for the weight of its contents. The handles broke, partially splitting the side of the bag, spilling out bits of paper and crumbled notes all over the living room floor. Now I had another mess to clean up.

It didn’t take long to pick up the mess and move it to the kitchen garbage can. But when I dumped them into that trash can, the side of the bag completely split. The entire contents spilled out all over the kitchen floor. Now I had to clean up the debris—again.

Once the odds and ends were gathered up and deposited, I had another task of sweeping the surrounding floor before taking out the full kitchen bag to the garage trash can.

The unwanted clutter had moved from my office to the kitchen to the garage. That simple task created several messes along the way.

Isn’t that the way we go through life? We carry bitter attitudes, dragging the heavy baggage from past hurts. The pain is hidden until it gets spilled out in our lives again, creating another mess.

With God’s help, the burdens and attitudes that clutter our hearts can be swept away for a fresh start when we pray the verses of Psalm 139:23-24 NIV). “Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and test my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me the way everlasting.”

By looking at the meaning of these words, we learn this is not a casual prayer.

Search is an imperative verb, meaning to thoroughly examine or investigate, to be found out.

Heart refers to the innermost part of the soul, where our thoughts originate.

Test means to scrutinize.

Anxious thoughts are not only worries, but disquieting concerns.

By incorporating these meanings, the prayer becomes something like “Thoroughly investigate my inner most soul and scrutinize my disquieting concerns.” In other words, declutter my heart from the hurts and attitudes that hinder my relationships with God and others, so they don’t spill out creating more messes.

What rubbish do I need to remove from my heart to create room for the Lord—bitterness, unforgiveness or comparisons? Take out the trash, once and for all.

After cleaning up the multiple messes, my cleared desk is a usable workspace. When the heart is free of the clutter, there is a clean workspace for God to move in our lives.

This article is brought to you by the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA).

About the author: Nancy Kay Grace is the speaker and award-winning author of The Grace Impact, a devotional about God’s grace. Her website, blog, and GraceNotes newsletter sign-up are found at www.nancykaygrace.com. As a cancer survivor, she writes about hope, perseverance, and God’s grace. Nancy enjoys hugs from grandchildren, playing worship songs on piano, hiking, and travel.

Join the conversation: What do you need to give the Lord to become less cluttered?