I walked in my office today and breathed a really deep sigh. I grew up in Florida and I have first hand experience of what a place looks like after a hurricane has gone through. My office kinda looked like a hurricane just ransacked the entire space. Papers stacked up, my desk a mess, blankets and bags on the floor, books all over the place. The only thing that seemed together was my trash can – it was empty and that is all thanks to a crew of custodians at the church who are absolutely amazing. I plugged in my laptop and realized I needed some clean space.
I think it’s interesting that clean space isn’t just a physical location, it also occurs in our minds and spirits. When life get’s cluttered and I get worried and anxious about things, clutter happens. Things that have been left unsaid or experiences that weren’t exactly how I had hoped for start to pile up and clutter the mind and heart. When this kind of clutter happens, I find it hard to focus or connect or communicate.
Joy and I have a few favorite shows on TV – most of them occurring on either the USA network or the Food Network. Recently we’ve gotten sucked into the show Necessary Roughness, which chronicles the life of a behavioral therapist who works with professional athletes and celebrities One of her clients is a Martha Steward kind of person – driven, focused, precise, and she’s having some slight anger issues. By the end of the show, we find out that she’s a hoarder and that the things in her life have taken over and crowded out her ability to have space. She’s captive to her possessions and they are quite literally threatening to take away all she loves and lives for. As I watched that show, I realized that this kind of hoarding occurs in the heart and mind of people everyday.
In the midst of my clutter (including physical, mental and spiritual), I occasionally have that moment of “oh yeah.” This moment usually says, what did Jesus do when he was in this place? He is the example we have – he was the only perfect person to walk earth – so what or how did he respond? He blew it off. When Jesus was getting low and when the clutter of ministry and life started to pile up in his life, Jesus walked away. He withdrew and went to a quiet place. He went and spent time with his Abba and he came back refreshed. Often times, Jesus’ “get away moments” occurred overnight – he stayed up all night spending time with his Father. As an insomniac, staying awake at night is something I know all to well, but Jesus chose this in order to clear the clutter.
Jesus prayed the Psalms throughout his life and in Psalm 45, we have this awesome moment where the Psalmist expresses the very heart of God – “BE STILL and KNOW that I AM GOD.” Now sometimes, being still is just as aggravating as having the clutter. In the quiet places, in the silence, we’re stuck in our houses that are chock full of all the stuff and clutter that is slowly bringing us to death. Sometimes the stillness is where we are reminded that the clutter is killing us. Yet, Jesus’ example and God’s call to us is to be still and know – to find our REST in this God, in the relationship of Abba to child.
When was the last time you cleaned up your room? When was the last time you allowed the clutter of your heart and mind to be swept clean by the presence of the Living God? I pray we both find some time this weekend to do that – step away from deadlines and projects and demands and be still. I pray that we’ll take the courageous step to actually find the quiet and be confronted with all the clutter. I pray we’ll rest not from God, but in God. And I pray that you’ll be able to find focus in the midst of the mess.
Grace and Peace!
