Embracing Him

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)

Last Friday, I stopped by the drive through car wash. Though there was a long, long line there, I decided to wait it out because the wintry roadway had left lots of dirt on our minivan.

Once we got close to the car wash entrance, I had to decide on an exterior or an exterior/interior wash. I looked around the van and saw the remnants of Cheerios, graham crackers, and french fries. I knew the interior needed a good cleaning, but I didn’t want the hassle of unstrapping the girls, gathering all of our winter wear, and exiting the van. Leaving the van was more work than I wanted, so I settled for a simple exterior wash. We rode through the car wash and when we emerged, our van’s exterior was spotless.

It is now Wednesday and though the van looks clean on the outside, I can’t say it’s truly clean because the inside is still dirty. Each time I get into the van, the Cheerios, graham crackers, and fries are still there, taunting me. I find it interesting that our lives can sometimes be just like our minivan. We may look spotless on the outside but on the inside, we’re still dirty!

Many times our exterior looks great. Our makeup is perfect, not a single hair is out of place, and our fine clothes are neat and clean. But on the contrary, our interior is far from pristine. Perhaps we’re harboring bad attitudes, allowing impatience to make us short-tempered, or thinking unkind thoughts. At first glance, we look great but if someone were to look into our hearts, the dirt in our lives might be painfully obvious.

Why is it so hard to make sure what wear carry on the inside is just as clean as what we wear on the outside? First, a thorough cleaning takes time to complete and often we’re not willing to invest the time. Just as I didn’t want to take the time to gather all of our things and get out of the minivan, we often don’t want to take time to do a Christ driven self assessment and vacuum away our dirt.

Next, we’re sometimes afraid of what we might find. Only the good Lord above knows what those poor folks would have uncovered had I allowed them to enter the interior of my van at the car wash! Would their discovery of a carefully wrapped but soiled and forgotten diaper (yes, that has happened!) have caused me embarrassment? Would the discovery of a credit card receipt showing my account number have made me vulnerable? Probably so, but if we perform a careful inspection of our hearts, we can expect to find a few things that may cause us shame and leave us exposed.

Finally, procrastination prevents some of us from cleaning up. We convince ourselves that we can always clean up at a later date. The problem is that later often takes a long time to arrive and sometimes it never arrives! I should have cleaned out the van weeks ago, but a busy schedule and two active preschoolers have provided me with an “excuse” to put off cleaning up. Are you holding onto weak excuses too?

In spite of the difficulties involved in cleaning up, it is necessary because dirt is impossible to hide. Our friends and family may catch glimpses of our sometimes unpleasant interiors, but God sees EVERYTHING quite clearly all the time! We simply need to acknowledge the dirt and admit that we cannot maintain clean lives on our own. Then, we must give our lives to Christ completely, inspect ourselves daily, and ask Him to give us clean hearts.

Cleaning takes a lot of time and effort, but in the end, we know we feel much better when things are fresh, neat, and tidy. Tomorrow, I’m going to grab the hand vacuum and a trash bag and clean out the van. Tonight, I’m going to grab my Bible, read some scripture, embrace God in prayer, and ask Him to help me clean up the dirty areas of my own life. Do you need to do some cleaning too?

Photo: Courtesy of scottamus (Flickr)

I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. (Isaiah 45:2-3)

Earlier this week, a friend rang our doorbell. As soon as I opened the door, I could see that she was not doing well. I immediately welcomed her in, escorted her to a comfortable seat, and asked what was wrong.

My friend spent the next hour or so explaining her stressful situation. Her husband’s work hours had been slashed drastically, her furnace was in need of repair, her washing machine died the previous night and needed to be replaced immediately. She was wondering how to pay for it all and maintain a positive attitude in spite of the unpleasant situation.

Unfortunately, my friend’s story is a common one that has been replayed in many homes across the country. However, my friend’s desire to maintain a positive attitude in spite of her difficult situation is most uncommon! Tough financial times have pushed many to the breaking point and many find themselves brutally battered by the daily storm of bleak economic news. When times become difficult, are we to jump off the rocky mountaintop and risk a fatal fall into the valley of despair? How can we maintain a hopeful positive attitude in times of despair?

During this morning’s quiet Bible reading time, I found a great answer. Isaiah 45:2-3 is a reassuring passage of scripture that offers important lessons for trying times. First, the scripture notes that God goes before us and paves the way. Though we may have been surprised by the sudden economic downturn, God was not. He knew these times were coming long before they arrived and ultimately He is in control of everything. He can level the mountains and place us on a smooth and firm foundation.

Next, God can destroy the barriers that imprison us. God alone has the ability to tear down the heavy bronze gates and cut down the thick iron bars in our paths. Finally, God has riches for us but they are stored in a secret place. These riches may not be material in nature, but don’t doubt their worth! Peace, contentment, faith, and security are just some of the riches we can access when we embrace God. When we turn our lives over to Him, He will guide us and give us access to the riches we need to survive the darkest of days.

Why does God opt to do these things? The reason is simple. He wants us to recognize Him as the sovereign One, the One who truly controls every detail of our lives. God has called each of us by name and has invited us to fellowship with Him. When we accept His divine invitation, we can embrace Him whether we’re on a mountain high or in a valley low! Though we may not be able to see how we’ll survive these uncertain financial times, “the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places” are more than enough to help us prevail! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Photo: Courtesy of Dornoff Photography (Flickr)

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

It’s quiet here and there’s not much on my “to do” list. I’m caught up on all of my laundry, I’ve already started my dinner preparations, the week’s grocery shopping is complete, there’s a minimal amount of housework to be done, and for a most of the day the girls have been playing together…happily.

This will probably sound strange, but not having a long list of things to do makes me uncomfortable. Such a lull doesn’t happen often, but when it does it’s difficult for me to savor the moment. I spend the day fighting a nagging feeling that I’ve forgotten to do something important. I worry that an uncompleted task will rear its ugly head later in the day at the most inopportune time.

My approach to the quiet moments God offers should be better and it’s a concern I’ve been praying about. And now that I have time to think about it, I have an idea as to why today is so peaceful. I think God is working on me and answering my prayers.

Last week, I was listening to Chip Ingram’s radio broadcast Living on the Edge. Since a new year has begun, He was encouraging his listeners to start the year properly. Pastor Ingram stressed the importance of spending quality time with God and then challenged listeners to devote the first 20 minutes of each day to time with God. Pastor Ingram was certain that our days would progress much more smoothly if we did so.

This advice is not new to me.  A couple of years ago when we joined our current church, JT and I took new members classes. In one of the classes the Assistant Pastor taught a lesson on how to get the most out of our days. We were not surprised when he recommended starting each day with a period of devotion with God.

For the past week, I’ve followed the advice of Chip Ingram and our Assistant Pastor. I’ve shifted my devotional time to first thing in the morning. Now before my feet hit the ground running, my knees greet the floor humbly before God. As a result, my days have been better! I’m more relaxed, less stressed, and more focused. My mind doesn’t feel as full and I’m able to see God at work as I complete the day’s activities.

Today, I’m praising God for hearing my prayers, answering those prayers, providing me with peace, and alerting me to the source of this peace. Though I know I shouldn’t be, I’m constantly amazed at the marvelous things that happen when I embrace Him! This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!

Photo: Courtesy of DijutalTim (Flickr)