Have you ever watched the shows “Hoarders” or “Fixer Upper”? Well, my intention is to describe what happens in my life when, spiritually speaking, I let the Holy Spirit take my Hoarder Home and turn it into The Ultimate Fixer Upper! -Matthew 20:28 “Jesus did not come to be served but to serve…”
Trinkets break easily but treasures last forever. So, which would you rather save up? Here I liken hoarder rooms full of trinkets to souls with lots of issues people compile but often forget about. If the junk drawers, closets and rooms of our soul full of trinkets are not emptied out, eventually they impede those chambers which cause internal congestion! Not only that, but on the show “Hoarders”, we sometimes see the rooms so full of trinkets that damage has been done to the original construction! So, if too many unaccounted for trinkets cause concern for the collapse of a real house, can you imagine what then happens in your heart when problems are left unresolved? Matthew 6:20 “… store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”
In my home, I choose memories over momentos because, personally, I can’t thrive in clutter or chaos. Well, it’s the same with our spiritual house! When I don’t let Yahushua rid me of past or present hurts and sins, offenses add up and become unmanageable! So, what do many of us do but “shut the door to that room” and try to live in the rest of the house. The problem is, the overflow of what I’m holding onto will inevitably encroach upon other living areas and sooner or later the entire house gets crowded out! And that is where one’s hoarder house may need a complete overhaul- “Demo Day!” -Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many!”
Admit it, no one enjoys trying to manuever around messes where they dwell. Then, why continue to collect emotions which keep you bound and unable to move about freely within your own vessel?! Fortunately, we have a Helper Hoarder Expert; the Holy Spirit, who cleans us out and washes us up! Everything from the floor to ceiling of our heart can be renewed! Jesus will purge those hard to reach, sensitive spaces you don’t want anyone to see! If you admit the need for His help though, Jesus will remove every cobweb and recover treasures you may not have known were even there! Or maybe you thought your hopes and desires were long lost when in reality, they were really just buried beneath the collection of trinkets. In an actual house, the goal is to occupy every space so that we can enjoy our living environment. Also, functionality is key, right? But how are we supposed to show hospitality to others, let alone manage our home, when we haven’t dealt with unresolved matters of the heart? How can we serve our family and friends in a welcoming environment when we haven’t taken out the trash in a while? Yuck, right? Yet when we open the doors of those locked rooms, the Holy Spirit can enter and take up occupancy! A much-needed renovation begins, and Jesus thoroughly cleans out the clutter of our hearts! When we confess our ill feelings to Him as well as other such sins, He helps us dispose of all the garbage where the trinkets of bitterness, resent, unforgiveness and anger are removed and the rooms get fumigated! Once those ugly, useless trinkets are thrown out, there is an airy atmosphere with a fresh aroma where we can then welcome in company and be a good host to others! -“For we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved!” 2 Corinthians 2:15
Upon this demolition we’ll call “sanctification of the soul”, God’s Spirit purges the unnecessary trinkets of pain and fear. These trinkets may come in the form of a facade you put up so others won’t see the cracks in your foundation, Or the performance act you put on in order to distract others from your short comings may be a way you like to hide those broken weight-bearing wall beams. Well, Jesus removes all of the fractures and repairs damages underneath the floorboards of your heart. Your Savior won’t stop until He restores all the damaged parts of your house. He never leaves us in the desolate condition we were found in! -2 Corinthians 10:5 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God…”
Like a spiritual “Flip That House” renovation project, we must evacuate the premise for a time, trusting the Expert Builder to do His work. In other words, we need to get out of the way and submit to the Professional Architect Christ Jesus! Because, although it may be shocking to see our place stripped down to bare bones, we understand that this process must happen before Jesus replaces any unstable walls and reinforces them with His secure joists! The Holy Spirit demoliishes the falty structures and false beliefs which are like trinkets just taking up space within but are unreliable and unsteady. God rebuilds the wreckage life wreaked on us by installing steady pillars which will stand up under the load of life! -Isaiah 58:12 “Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls.”
Omnisciently, the Master Builder replaces the flimsy material you once used to masquerade behind and stabilizes our framework with His treasures of Faith, Hope and Love which endure the test of time. We all need those virtues reinforced and cemented at our core so that the true essence of who we are stands strong eternally. In the interim, like a “Fixer Upper” demo sight would reveal, things may look like a hazard zone at first, but in the end the homeowners always marvel at their new, refurbished house! And upon entering the doors of that recently repaired and revived home, we see the transformation on the inside! Mulitple rooms are filled with special treasures for the residents! And how much more spectacular is it for those of us whom the The Holy Spirit resides within because our remodel reveals the Splendor of The Divine Builder! -2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all… are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory!”
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