Rust

You shall not make for yourself an idol, in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them;
~ Exodus 20:4

So many of life's details try and come between myself and my God. Most of the time I am not really even aware of this happening. And like dirt that begins to collect in the grout of my heart - one day I am suddenly aware of my neglect.

I use the dirty bathroom parallel, because it seems to fit the inside as well as the outside today. While getting myself ready this morning, I was horrified to see how much dirt has been collecting. I clean my bathrooms (and my house) every week. I wipe down the counters, scrub my toilets, Windex the mirrors and sweep and mop the floors. I douse the shower with some bleach spray, and things are good to go.

But after a while, I notice that the surface cleaning is just not enough - I need to devote myself to some deep cleaning. Hair spray glues dirt particles to the lip of the mirror. Grout turns from white to brown, after dust sets in. Mildew threatens to take permanent residence in our shower, and toothpaste stains the drain in the sink.

Having this eye-opening experience makes me want to set everything else aside to go scrub. Okay, what sounds so difficult about that? Well, here's the thing. The bathroom is only one of many rooms that has not been given a deep cleaning in a while. There are places on my walls that need to be touched up with paint. The playroom needs to be cleaned out, so that we can make room for Christmas toys. I've got the itch to clean out drawers and scrub cabinets . . . all of which tends to throw me into a cleaning frenzy.

This morning God was showing me a particular area of my heart that I have given over to an idol. This is not an easy thing to look at. Like the dirt that clings to my walls and invades my sparkle, it is something that has moved in subtly and unnoticed.

But today, God turned the spotlight on to the dirt in my heart, exposing every crack and crevice. Yikes!! As I find myself surrounded by a household project or two, my heart is also due for an oil check of sorts. Through this sanctification process, God wants to tune things up a bit, making sure my thoughts and motives are worthy of His white glove.

So where could you use a little bit of cleaning today? Is there a negative thought pattern you have put up with? Maybe you have a bad habit you've been determined to break, or you've gotten so used to the clutter that you don't even notice it anymore.

Wherever you are, however messy it is on the inside - you can believe that no amount of cobwebs are going to chase God away. He lowered Himself, to the point of dying on a cross - for you. There is nothing that you've done, nothing that you have neglected that would cause Him to push you away.

God's place is first . . . above anything that can be seen, heard, felt or touched. As I wonder how in the world I am going to find time to get these new projects in my home accomplished, I rest knowing that it isn't so much about the work - it is about abiding in Him. God is far more concerned about the rusty hinges on the inside of my heart than He is about what can be seen.

I know that if I put my relationship with God above everything else, that in due time, the anointing oil of the Holy Spirit will be faithful to take care of the rust.