House Cleaning
I laid in bed thinking back over the conversation I had just had with my youngest daughter. At 12, the world has become far more real and fears have less to do with boogey monsters but rather the world around us and her own fallen nature. She has expressed frustration several times that she hates that she is prone to disobey. She’s really a great kid and for the most part, quick to obey and desires know God more and more. But what had her upset this one particular night was fear. She had come up to get me out of bed to pray over her because she was afraid and couldn’t sleep. As we chatted in her room, she asked why she was afraid over things that she hadn’t thought about for a long time. Why had it come back tonight and why couldn’t she get over it. We talked and prayed before I went back to bed and she fell asleep.
As I lay there thinking about her and our conversation the word cleaning came to mind. You didn’t see that analogy coming did you? Stick with me for a moment on this. I enjoy cleaning. It cathartic for me and I love laying in bed at night with the fresh smell of clean around me. But the one thing that gets me frustrated, not matter how much I clean, there are still things that need to be cleaned. In addition to that, often when I have cleaned a space, I will sit down to enjoy it and I see something that I have missed cleaning or because something else is clean, I can now see beyond it to another space that needs my attention. Over the years I have learned how to clean smarter and take care of a space so that I don’t have as much to do each time I clean but, I still have to clean.
That’s why cleaning came to mind when I was talking to my daughter. There are times we tackle projects at home but that doesn’t mean we never have to work on that space again. Hopefully as we work through the space we can begin to see how to better clean and manage the space so it’s not so hard the next time we have to clean it. Conversely, if I know I need to address and area, let’s say dusting, waiting longer to deal with it won’t help the situation. Pretending it’s not dusty doesn’t take the dust away and the longer it goes the more work it is to get things back to clean.
Fear and anxiety are the same way. Both fear and anxiety are a result of irrational fears or unresolved sin or pain we have in our lives. It takes work to move through fear and anxiety. We can’t just blink and it’s done. When we are faced with fear or anxiety we can pretend it’s not there, mask the pain we feel and hope it goes away but just like cleaning, it will be there waiting for you tomorrow. The only way to move beyond the crushing fear and anxiety is to root it out. Kinda like cleaning out a closet. Everything has to come out first in order to get order back. It’s messy and often takes longer than we would like. When we feel fear or anxiety we have to stop ask ourselves what is the root of this. What needs to come up and be dealt with so that I can think more clearly about this issue. There is nothing easy about this. Some of us have spent years avoiding certain topics. We may even know where the fear stems from but we are afraid to tackle it. Unfortunately, there is no other way to heal but to deal with the underling issue.
Hebrews 10:22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. I was listening to a counselor on the radio yesterday and he talked about this very thing. He said that most fear, anxiety and depression comes from sin that we allow in our lives, keeping our shame secret or refusing to talk about what we think no one will ever understand (which is never true). Now, I have no counseling degree to draw from but as I thought back over my life and times I struggled with these issues, I see all three of those underling causes. Once I allowed the house cleaning to start in my life by confessing, repenting, talking with trusted friends and counselors, I began to see that fear, anxiety had less hold on me. I had to ask God to forgive and trust that He had. It was Him who cleansed me and He gave me the ability to move beyond the fear and anxiety.
I am free but there are occasional times that fear and anxiety creep in and just like cleaning each time, I need to dive back into cleaning mode to get that taken care of. Each time we take care of the things that we need to address in our lives, we get stronger and better at what we allow in our lives. Not that we will be perfect this life but those fears and anxieties that plagued us years ago don’t have to have that same weight today. As we see freedom come, we have the memory of what God has done in the past to help us move into His presence today to receive healing.
I love the next verse in Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. God has promised us freedom from fear and anxiety! There are literally hundreds of verses with both Old and New Testament saying we can be free from that bondage. We don’t have to live a life filled with fear and anxiety. I John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. Fear is driven out by perfect love. We don’t have to fear any longer because Jesus himself took our punishment when we gave our lives to Him. And, it’s the perfect love that comes into play when that fear is removed. My God is love! He loves extending grace and mercy to me. When I have fears or anxieties I can come to Him asking Him to show me what I need to deal with so that fear can be driven out. And because He loves me so much, His desire is for me to be free. He is willing to show me in addition to walking me through the tough things I might need to deal with. I’ve written about recently walking this out. (http://be-careful-what-you-pray-for). I can’t say I loved the pain in the revelation or the rooting it out but I will say God was and has continued to be far more gracious to me and He has been so quick to bring good healing and restoration to this area of my life.
Another super encouraging verse is 1 John 1:9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. Friends, He desires to forgive us, to cleanse us, to free us from fear and anxiety. We just need to get to the place that we are so uncomfortable living with fear and anxiety that we can really desire freedom. That’s when we can humbly say that nothing we can do will produce results that will free us. Only God, the true healer, can bring healing so full and perfect.
Here is a prayer using scripture that is an example for you. http://house-cleaning—prayer
