Recently God slammed me with a convicting thought. The thought was so real and so strong that I’ve made sure to meditate on it regularly since.
By now you all know how much of an organization fanatic I am. Our house gets messy, that is for sure, for we live in it and living makes messes. But I literally cannot function well if it stays that way for too long. Things being dirty or out of place irks me. Clutter makes me feel stressed and I can’t rest until the mess is taken care of.
The thought God pricked me with was this: “Why doesn’t a messy heart bother you the way a messy house does?” …are you already feeling convicted reading that? Just typing it again makes me squirm with conviction. How good I am at cleaning up messes, getting rid of clutter, and organizing household catastrophes. Yet, how often I let my heart – where the Holy Spirit dwells – remain a messy home.
That frustration against my husband that I allow to fester…oh, it’s no big deal. He made me frustrated in the first place so it’s really his fault and not mine.
That enmity I’m feeling toward a sister in Christ…she doesn’t even realize how ridiculous she is being. I can’t believe she is acting so belligerently.
That hurt I’m harboring because of something someone did…it hurts so bad. Why do I bother trying to be nice to her?
Over and over, there are so many corners of my heart-home that are not clean at all. What’s worse, instead of tending these areas with all diligence, I usually walk right by them, keeping them in their messy state, justifying the mess with silent, self-pity parties. My heart’s messes get pushed to the end of my priorities way too easily. While my family’s home may be neat as a pin on a regular basis, how regularly do I keep my heart the same way?
Proverbs 4:23 happens to be my life verse: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Ironic, isn’t it? What a keen renewal of my verse has this thought provoked.
WOW! That hit me right between the eyes, Lois. That could be me writing that! What a wake up call. Thank you for posting this, just what I needed to hear. For some time now, I could feel something not right, but have not been able to put my finger on it, until now. I have so much to be thankful for and still I could feel something was not right. Thank you again, now my heart feels so much better!!
Yes! I needed this tonight. Thanks for sharing your heart.