Time to De-clutter:

Just like a messy house, our hearts get cluttered sometimes. What do we do with the clutter? How do we get rid of it you ask?

Well, awhile ago I was asked to give devo for the worship team for our young adult service at church. I had never given a devotional before for a team of people so I was quite scared. I knew there was no specific formula and I knew I couldn’t use somebody elses work.. they asked me to lead devo. They wanted to hear what was on my heart. Well my heart was a mess. And I felt I was in no place to give others a good word from the Lord. Thankfully God showed me that the exact thing I was going through (a cluttered heart) was exactly what the team needed to hear! Since then, I have found that devos are the best and most meaningful when told from the experiences of your personal life, what God is showing you and doing in you.

Anyways He showed me that my desire to spend more time with Him and grow in Him was spot on, yet I couldn’t move forward in doing so when many other things were taking up my time, my thoughts, my energy… my heart. It is said that where your thoughts always are.. so is your heart. He showed me that this was something I could not take care of on my own, yet that I had been trying too. He was helping me see that I need to come to Him to take care of EVERYTHING, not just some things.. but He wants to take care of ALL of me.. ALL of you.

I’m a visual person, so I drew a picture of a big empty heart:

Then I began to fill it. I put Jesus at the center of course (I’m so holy ;]) lol and then I put my family, friends, and worship. I thought I was finished and that it looked good. How many of you know that when we think God is finished.. He has only JUST begun. So he whispered in my ear to keep writing what else was taking up my time, my thoughts, my energy… my heart. I proceeded to add work, music, sleep, internet, media, food, sin, etc… the list went on and on and what He was doing was pulling things out of me that I was not even aware of that was snatching my time and my heart away from God. When I stopped writing.. I noticed my heart was jam packed full of things that don’t even matter in the grand scheme of things. Yes Jesus may have been at the center of my heart, but He definitely was not all of it. He may be the center of your life.. but what about everything else around it that you’re not letting Him into? And this is an ongoing process.. it wasn’t just that one time that God cleared my clutter and I’ve been fine since… NO it’s an endless cycle of continuous heart checks because the world is all about filling voids with useless things. So how much more do we need to spend time in His presence asking Him to pour us out and fill us up with Him? Everyday my friends, everyday. It was eye opening to see what was truly taking up space in my heart. When I shared this with the team I had them do the same exercise and draw their heart and fill it up with every little thing that consumes it. I encourage you to do the same..

if you haven’t in awhile… maybe it’s a good day for a heart check. Let the Almighty Redeemer flood you with His cleansing waters and declutter your heart <3

In the end, our hearts should look like this:

So that Jesus truly is your heart and everything else comes second. Because some of those things that you may have written aren’t bad, but should come secondary to our Lord and Savior :)

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Let these verses become an everyday prayer <3

-B&B (Becky)