Clearing the Clutter in Your Life and Your Soul

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. (Psalm 139:23–24 NLT)

My goal for the winter is to clean out the basement.

In this house, our mutual pack-rat-ish tendencies have produced a lower floor filled with boxes, bags, and random loose “treasures” that all impede access to the freezer, shelves, and back room. Too many hobbies have given us too much stuff. A love of sentiment precludes jettisoning of old school projects, artwork, and memorabilia. It’s even possible that my Christmas addiction has resulted in a few too many boxes of decorations.

I’ll bet you have a room like this.

Unfortunately, cleaning out the basement has been my winter goal for the last eight years. Somehow, it never happens. The mess still keeps me from getting to the things I really need.

The stress of daily accumulation also gives us little space for hospitality to Jesus. Isaiah speaks of spiritual path clearing:

Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,
“Clear the way through the wilderness
for the Lord!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland
for our God!
Fill in the valleys,
and level the mountains and hills.
Straighten the curves,
and smooth out the rough places.
Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed.” (Isaiah 40:3-5 NLT)

These prophetic words refer to John the Baptist preparing people for the coming Messiah, Jesus. Clear the way for Jesus to come and bring his kingdom into the world! Make a path for his work in your life!

We humans aren’t the best at clearing the way for Jesus to come to us. Our busy schedules accumulate too much “stuff.” Our attachment to the past makes us afraid to step into a new path. Even the good things we benefit from grow too much, making us feel as though we’re filling our lives with the best of choices when we’re only filling it. All the colored spaces on our calendars can block access to what we need the most—the King of Kings coming to do work in our lives.

Sometimes even our leisure choices fill space but don’t fill our hearts.

Often, the need to care for all the things we’ve accumulated takes us away from the need to care for our souls. What if we chose to heed Isaiah, especially in this season?

Fill in our valleys. Valleys are the spaces where we feel inadequate or discontent. What if we filled those in with his promises of help and declarations of our identity?

Level our mountains. Perhaps these are the places where we proudly put our hands in the air and wave them. I can do this! I’m strong! I have it all together! What if we spent some time leveling those attitudes, reminding ourselves that without him we can do nothing? Meditating on the truth that his strength gives us ours? Revisiting “Be still, and know that I [and only I] am God?” (Psalm 46:10 NIV).

Straighten our curves. These are those places where we’ve turned aside and pursued what might be good but not the best. What if we let this season remind us to look straight on toward our goals? Not to let bends in the road reroute us?

Smooth out our rough places. We know what these are. Those places where our own willfulness has made our road a little rough. What if we took an honest inventory of ourselves, facing what we choose that makes following Jesus more difficult?

Then—then—the glory of the Lord will be revealed in us and to us. Then we will find access to the things we truly need to live in joy this Christmas season.

Isaiah gives us these four areas of our lives to clear out. Then we can lean toward Christ with that cleaning project—the one that involves our own souls—fresh and clear.

Lord, give us courage to look at our lives and our priorities. Give us strength to clear the way for you, making our path to you straight and true. Amen.

Scripture for Reflection

The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. (Habakkuk 3:19 NLT)

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. (Psalm 139:13–14 NLT)

“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT)

I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (Philippians 3:13–14 NLT)

Reach for More

Choose a room or closet to declutter over the next month. As you work on it, think about areas of your soul that also need decluttering. Where does your focus on busyness or affirmation clutter the path to Jesus? What will you clear from your heart, just as you clear your room or closet, to see more of your path?

Jill Richardson is a writer, speaker, pastor, mom of three, and author of five books. She likes to travel, grow flowers, read Tolkien, and research her next project. She believes in Jesus, grace, restoration, kindness, justice, and dark chocolate. Her passion is partnering with the next generation of faith. Jill blogs at jillmrichardson.com.