Spiritual Closets & Time in His Presence

“I have been in a constant state of organizing and purging the things in my home that I don’t need. I am amazed at the stuff that I have held on to for years, without even knowing why I have it! Was it the memory attached to it? I don’t know, but one thing is certain: every day that I let go of the past, I am more hopeful of the future. Things have a tendency to weigh us down, so much that we begin to turn in circles and not know where to begin to get free. We can apply this to our spiritual lives as well.
We have a tendency to harbor old grudges and fail to give them to God and ask for forgiveness; but unlike the dust laden stuff in our closets, grudges eat away at our spirits like a cancer. We may be able to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks on our own because we have been gifted by the Lord to do so, but unless we are willing to allow the Lord to clear our spiritual closets, it will be nearly impossible to visualize the greatness and significance of what we can accomplish. He took special care to shape man into his image and he breathed the breath of life into that body. He has a purpose and a plan for our lives that won’t be realized if we refuse to give him our all.
Somewhere along the way, we have missed it, with our ultra busy lifestyles (all for the glory of God, of course) and we have failed to refresh ourselves with the power that only comes through being in his presence. We say our two minute or thirty second prayers before meals or while heading out the door, with little time to reflect on God, his goodness, or what He desires of us for that day. We are all guilty of overscheduling.
When a relationship is only one-sided, it can go sour fairly quickly. We wouldn’t think of totally ignoring our spouse, our children, or our job. The consequences of doing so could be grave. But we don’t think twice about ignoring to read our Bible, fellowshipping with the Lord through prayer and supplication, or going days without end without so much as speaking the name of Jesus. No wonder we lose our victory and anointing at the first obstacle that stands in our path.
It is good to work for the Lord like Martha; it is better to develop a Mary spirit and worship at his feet. There are no pretenses, no agendas, no deadlines, and great power and strength to gain from just acknowledging that we can do nothing without Jesus. He has the ultimate control in our lives. If we spend our time holding on to past hurts and disappointments, we may not reach out to the Lord who is ready to fill our lives to the fullest with joy and peace that passes all understanding. Are you willing to lose out for the sake of holding on to the past?
What great things we can accomplish when we learn to spend time in his presence! The mountains in our lives that would try to separate us from him, will be removed. The Lord has given us light to bring us out of darkness. It will guide us into all truth, if we’ll learn how to take the time to just BE in his presence. It is a great gift: the power of being. -gm