So last week I told you the story of my wrinkled curtains and all of the work that it took to whip those curtains into shape and make them hang as they should.
Well, here’s another part of the story:
You see, I didn’t exactly love pinning those curtains every day. Even less, I didn’t enjoy the look of clothespins in the living room.
So one morning, I decided to speed up the process by getting out my steamer and vanishing those wrinkles!
Fired up and ready to go, I took my steamer from it’s cabinet and began to look for their attachments.
Only I couldn't find the attachments. I looked in closets, the garage, really anywhere I could think they might be and they were nowhere to be found.
Bringing me to the question of “Why am I keeping a steamer that is completely useless without it’s attachments?”
While I was looking for the attachments, I found some other things in the cabinets that are completely useless---like a mixer that doesn’t even work. Why am I keeping this??
Seriously, my house is not that big, I can’t afford to waste space hanging on to things that had absolutely no purpose.
And yet……
(Oh, come on, you knew there was going to be a spiritual angle to this….)
How often do we do this in our lives?
How often do we hold on to things in our hearts and minds that have NO GOOD PURPOSE.
Grudges.
Unforgiveness.
Regrets.
Memories that cause nothing but pain.
Words that were said to us that have caused nothing but destruction.
Books and magazines that take our minds places they should not go.
Movies and music that fill our minds with ungodly thoughts and feelings.
What are we holding on to these things for?
Why are we letting them fill up space in our hearts and minds?
Perhaps today it’s time to do a little housecleaning and have a “Josiah Day”.
What’s that?
Well, if you study the life of King Josiah back in 2 Kings 22-23, you’ll see that one of Josiah’s greatest achievements was that He went throughout the land of Judah and cleaned out E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G that was sinful, offensive to God, involved in idol worship, or considered sin. Seriously, take the time to read it and see how thorough he was in cleaning out the land---including everything in the Temple that was against God’s ways.
Years ago, I heard a minister say that there are times when we need to follow Josiah’s tenacity and have a Josiah Day where we give eviction notices to everything in our lives that just needs to go.
We need to ask ourselves, “Why am I holding on to things that are hurting me and damaging my relationship with God?”
Then we need to GET RID OF IT.
Kick it out.
Throw it away.
Once and for all say, “You are not welcome here, I am going to do whatever I need to overcome!”
We need to ask ourselves:
1. Are there things taking up space in my heart and mind that are only causing me heartache and pain?
2. Are there activities in my life that creating a wall of sin in my relationship with God?
3. Are there actual things in my house (magazines, books, movies, music, pornography, alcohol, etc...) that are causing me to sin and hurting my relationship with God?
Once you've identified these things, ask yourself the same question I asked myself:
"Why am I holding onto these things???"
Finally, make the choice to throw them out.
Do what is necessary to rid yourself of anything that is hurting you, your relationship with God or your relationship with others.
As Jesus said in Mark 9:43-48:
"If your hand or your foot gets in God’s way, chop it off and throw it away. You’re better off maimed or lame and alive than the proud owner of two hands and two feet, godless in a furnace of eternal fire. And if your eye distracts you from God, pull it out and throw it away. You’re better off one-eyed and alive than exercising your twenty-twenty vision from inside the fire of hell."
(The Message)
Obviously, Jesus wasn’t suggesting self-mutilation. He was saying we are better off getting rid of whatever causes us to sin even if it hurts.
If pornography on the internet causes you to sin, get rid of the internet. While the internet is handy, people got along for centuries without it, and if it causes you to sin, better to lose Google temporarily than to lose your soul eternally.
If TV or movies cause you to stumble, cancel your cable and Netflix. Better to miss the latest reality show than to lose your soul.
Although I could go on forever, listing things that could hurt us and how we should get rid of them, the basic principle is this:
Your soul is eternal---why let any temporary indulgence damage the part of you that lasts forever?
So today, I encourage you---have a Josiah Day---analyze your heart, take a good look around and see what needs to go and then GET RID OF IT.
Personally, I've done this many times in my life and I promise you that I've never regretted it.
I think I’m going to give that a try in my house.
I pray that you’ll give it a try in your heart.
To Read More Overcoming the Issues in Your Life, pick up your copy of Finding Healing:
