An Uncluttered Heart

There’s nothing quite like walking into my classroom the morning of parent orientation. It is clean, quiet, and peaceful. Everything is in its place, and the only remaining clutter is safely tucked away behind the doors of my storage cabinet.

When the students arrive for the first day of school, they will bring with them supplies, jackets, lunch boxes, and a few of their little treasures that inevitably end up on my desk. That kind of “clutter” is natural, an unavoidable byproduct of having students to teach, but it also makes me savor those few days of peaceful, uncluttered quiet all the more.

But sometimes, I’m like my classroom: tidy and organized on the outside, but behind the doors of my heart hides a cluttered mess.

As summer break came to an end this year, the Holy Spirit drew my attention to Psalm 40:8

“I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart.”

I have been learning to let God unclutter my heart with a renewed focus on doing His will.

That sounds vague, but in application, it’s quite specific. You see, instead of throwing all the different pieces of my life together into one cluttered jumble of busyness, I can take each piece in its own time as God’s will for me in that moment.

As I learn to put this in practice, a verse often comes to mind:

“Teach me Thy way, O Lord; I will walk in Thy truth: unite my heart to fear Thy name” Psalm 86:11

What cleared the clutter out of my heart was a renewed focus on the will of God. In other words, I let God “unite my heart” to fear His name. When we let the Holy Spirit show us how each of the things that fill our hearts and days are all pieces of God’s will, the pieces no longer seem like a jumble.

It’s like He takes each piece and shows us how to put it in the place He designed for it. One piece at a time, one task to complete, one person to invest in, one interruption to respond to in a Christlike manner, one hurt to surrender to the Lord for healing. God has a purpose and a plan for each and every part of our heart-clutter, if only we will listen to His directions.

So, dear Reader, what’s behind the doors of your heart? Do you have all the pieces of your life put away in their proper God-designed place, or does your heart feel cluttered? Let God help you clear the clutter with a renewed focus on finding—and doing—His will.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” 

Romans 12:1-2