Cleaning Up Spiritual Messiness
by Debbie Poer
When I’m working from home, the desk I use is an antique built by my husband’s grandfather. It is the type that has a cabinet on top with a drop-leaf front that, when opened, provides a work surface and you see the cabinet contains several cubby holes. It’s very neat and tidy when closed, but when I open it – oh my!
What a mess appears at first glance. However, when you take a closer look, you see that the thirteen cubby holes do have some organization to them. One of the sections holds envelopes, one holds a stapler, a ball of twine, and scissors, three hold an assortment of greeting and note cards, one holds pens and pencils, and there are one or two that really need to be sorted through, because who knows what they hold.
Recently I opened the desk to work and thought, “My goodness, that’s what my life looks like this week! The past two days I have been in the office; tomorrow I will be taking my 94-year-old mother on an outing; the next day I will be meeting with a young woman I’m mentoring and later in the day serving at a local food bank. And the following day I really need to sort through my personal “to-do” list of groceries, laundry, etc. Have I forgotten something, someone, or someplace?” (All thought with an ever-increasing frenzy.)
I’m fairly confident that most of us have those types of days/weeks when we look neat and tidy on the outside, but similar to parts of my desk we are messy on the inside.
As I thought about the week and the activities I had scheduled, I began to see that, like my desk, there is some organization to it. I am blessed to serve in ministry with e2, it’s a gift to still have my mother in my life, an honor to mentor younger women, and a privilege to share out of my abundance. It’s when I let those messier places overwhelm me that I lose sight of the bigger picture of living in God’s will for my life. That is when I take a step back – I must deal with those messier places to fully live in God’s will. And it begins with my spiritual life. If I’m messy there the rest of life is only messier!
I’m confident that God’s desire is for me to be in relationship with Him, to know Him, to hear Him, and to be obedient to His call on my life. So that is where I begin (again), slowing down and paying attention to the mess. Is my time spent in God's Word simply a time of gathering more knowledge or am I taking it into my life and then living it out? Am I praying, expecting God to respond or are my prayers a one-way street with my words the only ones I hear? Am I living a life of true praise or am I moving so fast He can’t catch my praises? I don’t have all the answers, but at least I’m seeing the messy parts and trying to sort through and eliminate them.
As I continue this journey, I trust I will discover in addition to the blessings I already have, there is much more waiting for me. I claim the words of God to Jeremiah when he said, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
What about you? Are you disciplining yourself to slow down and pay attention to your spiritual mess? Are you discovering new treasures in God’s Word? Have you become a stronger prayer warrior? Are you lifting praises to God throughout the day – at a pace He can hear them? Are you struggling with some or all of the above? I would love to hear your thoughts and stories about what you are discovering as you process through the messiness of your spiritual life. Send me an email at debbie@e2elders.org or connect through the private e2 Women Facebook Group and let’s have a conversation!
And about those cubby holes in my desk that need to be sorted through – I’m not sorting them all at once, but I am sorting them – a bit today and a bit tomorrow – and who knows what hidden treasures I might find there too?
