This is the time of year when many people take on “spring cleaning” projects inside and outside their homes. But what about inside your heart? “Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin’?” (Proverbs 20:9). Since we put so much time and effort into cleaning our worldly residence, shouldn’t we also do some “spiritual spring cleaning”?
If we desire clean hearts, we must start by asking for them. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me,” (Psalm 51:10). After we’ve prayed for guidance, we need to wade into the clutter and grime of our hearts—and let the cleaning begin!
1. Scan for big problems you might have overlooked.
Take some time to think through the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2–17). Are there any you’re not living out fully? If you find you’re tripping over one of these, confess it—and ask God to sweep your sin away.
2. Dust off your irritations.
Think of the things (or people) that annoy you regularly, and ask yourself if anything is going on in your own heart that contributes to the problem. “[Love] is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:5).
3. Consider the clutter of your days.
What could you fling from your life that’s cluttering your relationship with God? One TV show a day? A tidbit of gossip when you get together with friends? An indulgence that might be cultivating a spirit of selfishness? Look to the small things. The Bible warns us that it’s “the little foxes that ruin the vineyards” (Song of Solomon 2:15).
4. Contemplate what’s lacking.
What we fail to do often depletes our spiritual health as much as what we do wrong. We want to be among those to whom Christ says, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me’” (Matthew 25:35-36).
God longs to purify you from your sins, to wash you and make your heart “whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7)…every season of the year!
