It’s that time of year again. Winter is fading and spring is in full bloom. Now let the spring cleaning begin! Not just the surface areas of our homes that we give the “once over” when company is coming. It’s time to deep clean. The type of cleaning that requires time and attention. Dusting behind the things we can see. Stopping the ceiling fans so we can marvel at the amount of dust that has collected over the last several months. Moving the furniture to reveal heaven only knows what that hasn’t seen the light of day since the last concentrated deep cleaning it received.
Just as we need to deep clean our homes, we also need to do a deep cleaning of our hearts & lives. We need examine the areas of our lives we hope the world doesn’t see. The things we struggle with that we are not even willing to admit to those closest to us. The issues we put off dealing with until later. The hidden parts of our lives that require time and attention and work.
Where do we even start? Start with prayer. Allow the Lord access so He can help you deal with these areas. The psalmist David wrote in Psalm 139:23, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
That can seem a scary request, asking the Lord to search our hearts. But it invites him to a deeper relationship with us, and in that relationship, help us start dealing with certain areas and begin to clean them up and dust them off so we can actually examine them, along with areas we may have been avoiding or may not have even realized were there. He already sees. He already knows. He’s just waiting to be invited in. Begin by asking him to show you where you need his forgiveness, and to show you where you might need to extend that forgiveness to others. Forgiveness is always a great place to start!
Isn’t it a great feeling when your house has been deep cleaned? You almost dare someone to look behind the furniture or to turn off your ceiling fan to inspect the blades for dust. It’s an even better feeling knowing you aren’t trying to keep anything from the Lord. You have come clean to him about the hidden parts. It’s liberating to say the least.
Go ahead and read all of Psalm 139 & Psalm 51. Pray those psalms to the Lord. He will hear you and he will cleanse you.