One man's junk is another man's treasure.
Last Thursday we discovered through my 17-year-overdue basement-cleaning process that what is junk in our own eyes is nothing but a diamond-in-the-rough from God's perspective. He doesn't see us as junk; rather, He sees us for what we can become, and He cleanses us of our unrighteousness, freeing us to become that "treasure" in His eyes.
There was, however, one other vital lesson that my basement cleaning process taught me...
You see, when we moved into this house, it was beautiful. Everything had its place, and there was no junk in the hidden recesses of our home. So when I took a critical look at the house after living here for 17 years, I had to scratch my head and say, "Where did all this junk come from? I never wanted to fill my house with junk!"
In the same way, when we fall in love with Jesus, we understand that our slates have been wiped clean (see Ps. 103:12), and we love Him so much that we desire to keep them that way. However, a few hours into our love-walk with Jesus, and we begin to see a build-up of sinful "junk" returning to our lives! We have addictions. We have pet sins. We have a human nature. We have sinful habitual patterns.
Just where does all this "junk" come from?
Unlike me having to pay for the city to come and remove my junk, however, I don't have to pay for Jesus to remove my addictions, my human nature, my pet sins, my habitual patterns, for "...if the Son sets you free, you are truly free." (John 8:36 NLT), and "...now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus." (Rom. 8:1 NLT).
This doesn't mean, however, that I don't have a role to play. Just like I had a lot of sorting and hauling to do to get the junk out of my house and onto the street, we all have a part to play in the process of keeping our spiritual "junk" at bay. Here are a few examples:
1. "If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." (1 John 1:9 NLT).
The first step to "junk cleaning" has to do with confession. We need to acknowledge the areas of our lives that God needs to cleanse.
2. "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8 NLT)
We need to ever be on the alert for attacks of the devil. This means we need to be aware of our weaknesses and with God's help, take steps to prevent ourselves from once again falling into temptation.
3. "...Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil." (Eph. 6:10-11 NLT)
This means that we need to fully understand who we are in Christ (See "God's Armour" for some clues on how to do this).
4. "Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere." (Eph. 6:18 NLT)
We cannot underestimate the power of prayer, and we should not only pray for ourselves, but for each other. Everyone is struggling, and sometimes it is our prayers that help prevent others from falling back into the "junk collectors" we all tend to be!
Friends, let's give our "junk" to God. Let's let Him cleanse us from all unrighteousness and remove from us our dross. But let's do our part in keeping a "clean house" by confessing our sins, by staying alert for the devil's traps, by knowing who we are in Christ, and by praying without ceasing! For when we do, that "basement" and "garage" will not re-accumulate its junk!
House full of junk? Give it to God!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author -- "Aboard God's Train -- A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer", Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.
