Clean Up This Mess

I have two boys. By definition, boys are messy. Mine are no exception. As a matter of fact, they are exceptional.

As a father, I’ve learned how to deal with the messes they make (somewhat). See, if I just tell them to clean up their mess, they barely notice that I am speaking. So I’ve learned not to push it too hard all the time. The best time to bring it up is when they want something from me. That’s when you see results.

For little kids, it’s hard to make them actually see a mess, because they are messy. But when you say, “We’re not going anywhere until this mess is cleaned up” somehow, the scales fall from their eyes, and toys slowly begin to get picked up (very, very slowly).

We "Big People" are exactly the same way with our Father in Heaven. We tend to not see the mess we allow to build up in our lives: "petty little sins" that seem so insignificant to us that we forget about them. I’m talking about things like “white” lies, holding a grudge, and the entire spectrum of socially acceptable sins and ungodliness within the church (yes, I said it and it’s true).

When we want something from God, or when we want to get closer to God, He will remind us about the mess. He will tell us to clean it up. There are times we simply want Him to restore to us the joy of our salvation, but He will tell us to deal with the mess we’ve left behind first. Oh, you can come as you are alright, but that ain't the end of it. It may be that we need to spend some time in solemn confession, but it may require restitution be paid, or even more horrifying – a heartfelt apology to someone we've wronged.

If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;

but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. (Ps 66:18-19).

The first part of that verse can be translated many ways, but it literally means If I looked and saw sin in my heart, which basically means If I hadn’t dealt with the mess first.

If you read Psalm 66, you’ll see that almost the whole thing is a celebration – a very happy man praising the LORD. And then he gets to the end:

Come and hear, all you who fear God;

let me tell you what he has done for me.

He has good reason to be overjoyed:

Praise be to God,

who has not rejected my prayer

or withheld his love from me!

Who doesn't want to be like that? 

Each of us may have a mess to clean up that we’re just not seeing. Ask the Father to show it to you and help you clean it up so you can get moving.

-- I know I can never refuse my boys when they ask me for help.