.

Storage oh my, there is all kinds of room in there and in my garage I have huge shelves on both sides of the garage to put more stuff on. There is even a place to get into the attic with more space for stuff in my garage. Garage yes, I am big fan of it and can’t believe I lived without it for so many years!

Lately though I have run into a problem that I hate to confess; my garage is a mess! Here is my deal with baseball comes two bags of equipment, with summer comes Vacation Bible School which is a giant creator of miscellaneous trinkets and on top of all that I have moved my office of 13 years to my house. I am packed in, it’s a wreck. Sound familiar?

Something tells me my garage situation is a lot like some of yours, you never thought it would get in such a mess but you look up and there it is. Something also tells me our collective garage situation is a lot like some of our spiritual lives as well.

We never thought it would be such a mess but we look up and we are far removed from where we would like to be in our spiritual live. For example:

• Every day I push the button and the garage door opens. As it opens I look at that small slither to put my car and I think to myself; I need to clean out this garage. But to this date I have yet to do it. We do the same thing with our spiritual life. We get up every morning and think I need to pray today or read my Bible today or I need to do something about that unconfessed sin in my life but one by one each day goes by and our spiritual life is like my garage, cluttered and unchanged.
• Every day is busy, I make excuses like; it’s too hot, the yard needs dealing with today, I will deal with the garage tomorrow. I need to take care of the office first or I just need a day of rest then I will be ready tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes, the situation remains unchanged. Same with our spiritual life we can find every kind of excuse to keep us from dealing with our unkept spiritual life; we’re busy, we’re tired, I don’t know where to start, something else is more pressing but I will get to it tomorrow. Once again the days go by and our spiritual life goes neglected.

We know how we are; just like every day that I open my garage door is a reminder I need to take care of my garage; God sends reminders to us each day that we need to take care of our spiritual life. So what do we do?

• One step at a time. You can’t clean out a garage with one snap of your fingers and you can’t do the same with your spiritual life. Find one part of the clutter and remove it, once it is gone then move to the next spot.
• Make it a priority. You may need to change a habit, get up earlier, stay up later, buy a One Year Bible for easy reading, start to journal or get in a small group study to name just a few good things. Bottom line is if you are ever going to start too clean things up it will have to be a priority.
• Rejoice with each victory. Several months back I found myself in the same situation, a cluttered garage that needed straightening out. One thing at a time it got cleaned up. After the fact I looked back at the garage with pride. Do the same with your spiritual life; as you remove one piece of clutter and add good things to your life pause and rejoice with each victory. This will lead you to my next point.
• Keep it Clean! Once you have it cleaned the easiest way to avoid those nasty reminders is to keep it clean. Put things away that need to be put away make things priorities that need to be made a priority. When God starts to get your attention in a certain area do something about it then don’t wait. The longer you wait, well you know how that goes, you’ve seen your spiritual garage.

Has your spiritual life been parked in a cluttered garage too long; let’s get to work we’ve squeezed our life in there too long!

Scripture: Psalm 24: 4-6, “He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who see him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.”

Prayer: Dear Lord, lead us to not only hear your reminders of the things we need to do in our lives but have us to take action. Help us to clean up our life in your sight, to be sensitive to your will. We thank you that you care for us and keep us under your watch. We ask these things in the precious and most holy name of Jesus, Amen.