God is not an Indifferent Bystander

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Welcome to my house. Would you like something to drink? Here, have a seat and relax for a while. I hope you find my house warm and inviting. There are no places you are not welcome. Every door has been opened. If you like, you can even look in my medicine cabinet and open my closet doors. I am not guaranteeing perfection. I am sure there is still some dust and disorganization. For the first time in my life, almost everything is where it belongs. God has been doing a lot of work to help me clean my house and now He wants me to invite you in to check it out. In Hebrews 12:25-27 (MSG) it states:

So don’t turn a deaf ear to these gracious words…His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time— he’s told us this quite plainly—he’ll also rock the heavens: “One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern.” The phrase “one last shaking” means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered. 

So what does this scripture mean? God wants to clean our house, our emotional, spiritual house. It’s His desire to set us free from the burdens life has given us. He wants us to be clean and uncluttered. “Why?” you ask. Who wouldn’t do that for their children? The cleaner we are, the better reflection of His love we can be to others. And then in Hebrews 12:28-29, it says, 

Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed… 

Nothing could be truer; God is not a bystander. He will actively clean our hearts if we let Him. Sometimes His fire burns a little as He shows us the errors of our ways of thinking and understanding, but that is replaced with His love and comfort. In the end He restores us to a new creation. Of course this is a lifelong process. I’m still in the process. However, He sometimes chooses to clean big chunks at a time as He did with me. Once we enter into some housecleaning—maybe the closets or behind the fridge—we begin to see how great His love is for us. We have fewer burdens to clutter up our hearts so there is more room for Him. I will share my story of emotional and spiritual healing from childhood sexual abuse. I will share the ups and downs, the steps forward and back. Healing went in various directions for me. It was not a straight or continuous path. I will also share the resources and what I learned from the various directions God took me. The abuse I experienced resulted in guilt, shame, unforgiveness, and a lack of trust. What is unique about the story is not what happened—unfortunately many have had this kind of experience as part of their story—what is unique is the path God took me on to heal, restoring me by replacing darkness in my heart with His love. I will share the experience when God closed the doors on all the residual feelings, doubts, hurts, and how for the first time in my life I can say, “I am free.”

Why should all of us clean house? The obvious reason is that God wants our entire heart and not just part of it. He wants to cleanse us of all that has cluttered our life and hindered our relationship with Him. He wants to free our soul (mind, will, and emotions) from the burdens we have been carrying, making room for Him to move from our head to our heart. He offers a new sense of wholeness and being loved that only comes from an open heart.

Will you join me in cleaning house? You can share here where you want to start cleaning. To read more about how I cleaned my house click here.

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