Two nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night and felt God speaking to me about having a clean house. I lay wide awake thinking about all the areas of our house that needed cleaning up until finally at 5.30am I nudged my husband awake and said rather urgently, “We need to clean out the bedroom cupboard”. He wasn’t for some reason very enthusiastic and told me to, “Go back to sleep.” “We’ll do it when the sun actually comes up!”
The purpose behind God telling me to “clean your house” is not just a practical one as I soon realised. When we make the effort to clean our house up, we will invariably end up cleaning other areas of our lives up too.
God isn’t really phased if our bedroom is untidy, how much clutter we have collected, whether there are dishes in the sink or if the bathroom’s been cleaned. However I did gather from our middle of the night conversation that He does know that “what’s on the outside is a reflection of what’s going on in our insides.
For, “Isn’t it odd, we can only see our outsides, but nearly everything happens on the inside”. (Charlie Mackesy)
Taking the time to clean up our house helps us to let go, move forward and to step into the next season.
When we are surrounded by “stuff” it, without us often realising, becomes a blockage to our success and moving forward in our lives. Mess and clutter starts to drain and steal our energy, focus and peace as it creates a disagreement between what we desire and how we’re actually living.
We all benefit from having clarity and freedom and when we clean our house it helps us to gain clarity and to also assess whether there are areas of our hearts and minds that need attention too. That’s because our “stuff” has emotions, memories and thoughts attached to it. As we sort through our belongings and the attachments to these things that we’ve stored away in our homes, we get to choose both internally and externally what we move forward with and what we drop off and leave behind.
Success and management coaches (I happen to be married to one), recommend making a plan and following these 3 steps to help clean our house and hearts, so we can make room for the life we want.
Make a list – writing down all that we want to clean out both externally and internally, brings clarity and reveals what needs to be done so we can unravel the mess in our heads and hearts. Go through your house room by room and itemise everything that needs to be cleaned up and sorted.
Schedule: Allocate a time to begin. There is no better time than today…so just do it.
Set the timer for 20 minutes. Just 20 minutes will get you started and keep you motivated. See how much you can get done in 20 minutes rather than overwhelming yourself trying to do too much at once. A consistent 20 minutes a day adds up and will get it done!
Stay focused and clean one room or area at a time. Make the first area you work on be the one you spend the most time in. Keep cleaning/decluttering until you feel good about that space.
“Clutter is not just the stuff on the floor – it’s anything that stands between you and the life you want to be living.”
“When you declutter – whether it’s on your home, your head, or your heart – it is astounding what will flow into that space that will enrich you, your life and your family.” (Peter Walsh)
Today determine to,”throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and run with endurance the race set out for you.” “Casting all your care on Jesus, for he cares for you.” (Hebrews 12:1; 1 Peter 5:7)
Prayer: Lord please help me to see where I can benefit from cleaning up both my physical world and all that is within my heart and mind. I can do all things because you give me strength, so I’m taking the time to clean my house and my heart, starting today. In Jesus name Amen.
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