Picking up the trash!
Isaiah 1:16, NKJV, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.”
The Trash
One day I was walking down a hallway in church talking with an older woman whose daily walk with the Lord I respect and admire. As we were walking and talking together, I noticed a candy wrapper on the floor. Not giving it a second thought, I just walked by the trash. My older friend stopped and picked it up. Thinking about it, I was embarrassed that I had left the paper on the floor. There was trash on the floor for all visitors and church family to see. People might think we don’t care about our place of worship. The church is where we gather to worship God. Who will pick up the trash or straighten that crooked picture if we don’t take responsibility for God’s house?
II Corinthians 7:1, MSG, “Dear friends, let’s make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us, both within and without. Let’s make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God.”
Trash in our Lives
Reflecting on the trash, it reminds me of the trash, like small candy wrappers, in our lives. Things that linger there because we ignore them or just simply do not care. The trash could be an inappropriate word occasionally. Perhaps a selfish action that made others notice your trash. It could be a second look at a person whose wearing clothes that apparently the seamstress didn’t have enough fabric. Or maybe the trash lying around in your heart because of disobedience and you think no one notices.
I John 1:9, NKJV, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.”
Clean the Trash
STOP! Take the time to ‘pick up’ the trash in your life. Seek forgiveness with a genuine heart and it will be removed. Bend over on your knees and clean up the trash in your life by prayer and supplication. If you don’t see the trash in your life, then ask God to show it to you. Believe me, He will, because all of us have trash in our lives. None of us are perfect!
Keep Clean
Since that day, when I am at church, I make a special effort to make sure things are picked up and put in place. If I don’t, who will? Also, regularly I must pick up the trash lying around in my heart to keep it clean. After all, a Christian body is the dwelling place of God. He sees, He knows, He cares!
Clean by Natalie Grant
Paula Wallace
Additional reading:
I am amazed at the genuine relevant messages God gives you and other Sisters from the South” to share with others. May God bless and use this ministry for hurting and lost souls as well as those who need to draw closer to Him. ✝️