Decluttering Your Heart

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.” Galatians 2:20 ESV

What’s cluttering your heart so that rivers of living water can’t flow from you to others? Have you ever found yourself lashing out in anger or feeling irritable without understanding why?

Lately, I’ve noticed that there are certain people in my life that make me feel irritated when I’m around them. No matter how hard I try not to react that way, I can’t seem to shake it off or understand why I become so defensive and agitated.

Four months ago, I had reconstructive surgery on my left ankle. During my recovery, I found myself feeling tense, depressed, and lonely. After some self-reflection, I asked the Holy Spirit to reveal what was causing these feelings in my heart.

The Holy Spirit led me to Genesis 26. Initially, I didn’t understand what He was attempting to show me. What does my heart have to do with Isaac digging for wells? Still, I made the decision to obey and examine my heart as well as search the Scriptures. Genesis 26:18-25 tells the story of how Isaac reopened the wells his father had dug in the Valley of Gerar.

Like me, you may be asking yourself, “How does this relate to decluttering your heart?” Wells were essential for both survival and prosperity in those days. No living creature can survive for longer than five days without water. Our bodies cannot survive without water. Our relationship with God is no different. Isaac had to dig to remove every bit of dirt and stones that had been blocking the water from flowing. And when he removed those obstacles, God blessed him. The same holds true for us. We must choose to invite the Holy Spirit to help us dig deep in our hearts and remove the hurts that are preventing us from becoming the people He created us to be.

In John 7:38, Jesus said, “Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.'”

Our hearts are like wells. They are intended to be rivers of living water that flow from them to every facet of our lives and to those of others. Sometimes, though, rivers of living water cannot flow through our hearts as God intended. We are unable to live the abundant life that Jesus came to give us because we hold on to pain, old wounds, anger, shame, and unforgiveness. We see this truth illustrated in John 4:7 when Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well. Her heart was cluttered with shame, rejection, loneliness, and past hurts. Instead of rejecting her, Jesus showed her how much He loved her. But she needed to dig deep into her heart and allow Him to remove all the pain she carried.

The life of Christ, who lives in us through the Holy Spirit, must flow through us and be poured into those around us. But if our hearts are cluttered, how can we reflect Jesus in our lives? How can we possibly love others if we don’t love ourselves, and have a heart full of past hurts, shame, anger, and unforgiveness?

Friends, I had to come to Jesus and surrender my heart to Him, asking Him to do for me what He had done for the Samaritan woman—that is, to heal my heart and take away the stones of unforgiveness, shame, anger, condemnation, and brokenness.

You might be wondering if Jesus has removed those stones from my heart or if they are still there. Can I talk with those people without getting agitated? Is my heart free of those stones?

Unfortunately, this process does not happen overnight. This is a journey of surrender. As I yield every part of my heart and permit the Holy Spirit to reveal those stones, He will gradually remove them and fill the void with His love.

And that is precisely what He is doing. Two nights ago, the Lord prompted me to text one of the persons I was feeling irritated towards. As I started writing the message, the Holy Spirit prompted me to ask for forgiveness. To be completely honest, I began writing, “Forgive me if I’ve wrongly judged you…” The Holy Spirit then said, “No, you did judge her. So, change that.” So, I started writing, “Forgive me for judging you and pulling away from you.” As I was writing those words, I have to admit that I felt a weight had been lifted, and songs of praise and deliverance began to fill my heart. What an amazing experience!

It reminded me of the events described in Acts 16:25-26, where Paul and Silas, imprisoned, started praising the Lord. Chains were broken, and prison doors were opened. That’s exactly what my heart experienced.

John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Jesus is inviting you and me to open our hearts to Him so He can heal our wounded hearts. However, He can only do this if we allow Him to move as He pleases in our hearts and not treat Him as merely a guest. What do I mean by this?

Consider our home. Naturally, we ensure our house is tidy before inviting guests, but do we really allow them to enter every room? Are they allowed into the bedrooms and workplace? Do we allow them to browse our closets or rearrange things in our homes? I don’t know about you, but I don’t. Why? Because they’re only guests. We do, however, allow our family to go wherever they please within the house. Well, the same is true with our Lord Jesus. From the moment the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in us at the moment of salvation, we treat Him as our Savior but not our Lord.

We allow Him access to certain areas in our hearts, but not all of them. Why is that the case? Maybe it’s because we don’t understand what it means for Christ to indwell us and work through us. It has taken me a long time to understand what it means to allow the Lord to live through me.

But, as I choose to abide in the beauty of Jesus and allow Him to be the center of my life and ask Him to let God’s will be done in my life, He will begin to remove those stones from my heart—just as He started to do two nights ago. It’s a journey we begin when we accept His invitation.

How about you, friend? Are you willing to surrender your heart to Jesus so that He can remove all the stones that are blocking the rivers of living water from flowing through you and to others? I assure you, it’s not easy. Our flesh will try to resist, but when we allow the Lord to rebuilt our hearts, we too will sing songs of deliverance, the doors will break, the chains will break, and deliverance will come. Friends, He has good plans for us. All we need to do is surrender and allow Him to continue the work He began in us.

If you’re interested in learning more about who you are in Christ and living a life guided by Jesus, explore this invaluable resource: Survival Kit- Five Keys to Spiritual Growth by Ralph W. Neighbour, Jr. & Bill Latham.

 

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for Your love and faithfulness. Thank You for loving me despite my stubbornness and always treating You as a guest, not my Lord. Help me, Lord, to surrender my heart daily to You. Lord, continue to remove those stones blocking rivers of living water from flowing in me and through me so that others may see You living through me. May Your will be done in me as it is in Heaven. May my life be a living testimony of You, not through my words but through my actions. In Jesus’ name, I give You all praises, Lord. Amen.

Scriptures on Christ living in us:

• 1 John 4:13-15
• Galatians 5:13-26
• 2 Corinthians 5:17
• Colossians 1:21-22, 27
• Ephesians 3:17
• Galatians 2:19-20
• Philippians 4:13
• Philippians 1:21
• John 7:37-39

Reference

Neighbour, R. W., Jr., and Latham, B. (2019). Survival Five Keys to Spiritual Growth.  Brentwood, Tennessee: Lifeway Press.

Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

 

Reference

• Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
• Neighbour JR, Ralph, and Latham, Bill. Survival Five Keys to Spiritual Growth. 1996 Lifeway Press. Originally published in 1979. Revised 1996, 2019