Devotion: How to Live an Unhindered Life

“Clutter isn’t just the stuff in your closet. It’s anything that gets between you and the life that you want to be living.” ~Peter Walsh

I love organization. When my closet is ordered by style and function, I am smitten with it. When my pantry is stocked and sorted into a usable state, I want to sing. And yet sometimes I cannot find that shirt I know I have or locate that spice I know I purchased. It’s aggravating that real life doesn’t often look like the Container Store’s display.

Researchers claim that when our surroundings are orderly, it creates a feeling that everything is okay, while clutter around us can actually trigger anxiety and depression. I would propose that this is true both in our homes and in our minds.

Even with the best of intentions, things get messy in our homes and lives. When our minds are filled with regret over the past or fear of the future, we become buried waist-deep in a mess that doesn’t allow us to enjoy the present.

With determination and a good plan, we can put our houses in order, but what about tidying up what’s strewn about in our minds? Professional organizers encourage people who want order to create a system of sorting. They suggest to first clean areas where clutter gathers the most, then divide things into three piles: things you love and use, things you will give away, and things you will throw away. This is a method I use with my thoughts and schedule as well my closet.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1 NIV).

A hindrance, by definition, is whatever creates difficulties for [someone or something], resulting in delay or obstruction. We are sometimes surrounded by heaps of regret from yesterday and piles of worry about tomorrow, which render us unable to run our unique race in life. We likely wouldn’t say we love these concerns, and yet they’ve become so familiar to us that we’re hesitant to give or throw them away. But God is glad to take them from us, no questions asked, if only we’ll hand them over.

The Bible is chock full of invitations to give our concerns to God, who is far better equipped to manage them anyway.

1 Peter 5:7 says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you”  (NLT).

I love this paraphrase: “Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you” (1 Peter 5:7 The Message).

We all want a carefree life, and I love the reminder that He’s so careful with us and so worthy of our trust. It’s not up to us to carry and sort out all the things. He’s got it all—past, present, and future.

[Tweet “Bringing our concerns to God in prayer frees us to live abundant, uncluttered, and beautiful lives.”] Life won’t ever be completely free from concerns, but knowing to whom we can entrust them provides the peace which comes from an untroubled mind.

Scripture for Reflection

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1 NIV)

Reach for More

This week’s challenge is about sorting our thoughts and schedules to determine what we want to keep and entrust to God and what we need to let go of altogether. Worrisome thoughts might seem like the obvious choice, but remember that we can be hindered by too many good things as well. Sometimes margin is what we need in our calendar and thought life in order to live out our unique purposes. Prayerfully entrust God with the things that are standing between you and the life you want to be living.

Dear friends, we can do this. Consider this deal: we trade our concerns and commitments to an all-loving and all-powerful God, and in return we get peace of mind and freedom to live an unencumbered and abundant life. It’s an offer too good to pass up! Let’s rearrange things and see what clutter-free living really feels like.

Please, come back and leave a comment telling us about how God spoke to you this week, or share your progress on social media using the hashtag #tgtreachformore. We would love to hear from you.

Melinda Mattson will follow any sign that leads to the promise of vintage décor and repurposed treasures. As a wife and mom to two dear daughters, her home is filled with equal measures of sugar and spice. She loves kindness and Jesus and is glad they’re meant to come as a package deal. She aims to embrace both with equal fervor. Melinda blogs at www.melindamattson.com.