The Battle To Get Clean

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”- 2 Corinthians 5:17

My kids teach me so much every day. My son is great at teaching me how to strategically block him while he is running from me in order to put his underwear on after potty  time and my 1 year old daughter is re-teaching me how to figure out what different types of crying means. It’s awesome!

Often times I will watch them do the things they do and think about how it applies to my faith. It’s crazy how God gives us kids, whether they’re ours or someone else’s, to learn about life and how God cares about us.

My kids like to eat. They get their looks from their mom and their appetite from me. Our son, Liam, has become strategic at asking for more, he even barters, which is a funny thing to listen to. He says things like, “Can I have 2 pieces?” We say, “One more.” His reply, “Hmmm…maybe, just 2? That’s a good idea.” That ensues for a bit until I give in and my wife makes fun of me for being a sucker.

Then, there’s Norah. She is figuring out how to point to what she wants and letting out a blood curdling screech until she gets it. She eats everything, including dog hair, and, in typical 1 year old fashion, she is covered in all of it and then has to get cleaned up.

That’s where the battle begins…

She sees the wet towel coming her way and she instantly squirms

and hides her face trying to see if there is an ejector seat button for a quick escape. Then, when she realizes there is no escape, she freaks out with a scream and crying. When we are all done wiping her off, we take her out of the seat, and she realizes she is in safe arms and is feeling better.

This is us in our spiritual walk.

We love to consume what we can in regards to teaching, perhaps reading, prayer, etc. We love to be in a group of people talking about faith and spiritual development. We enjoy being in church listening to our pastor or someone share some encouraging message that will challenge us to be better.

Then, the battle begins when we start to really take it seriously.

God is trying to get us to clean out our inside mess. He is trying to dig deep and help us see the faults and struggles we carry. He is trying to release us from the sinful mess we have allowed ourselves to be covered in. He wants us to be renewed and rejuvenated in Him, but we become like Norah, and we start to squirm and find the fastest way out.

We begin to hesitate on how deep we want to go with God. We might even regret that we stepped foot into a place that puts us in a position where someone has complete control and dwelling in our inner being.

We fight! We scream a little. We avoid every swipe of the cleaning process because it hurts or it makes us uncomfortable.

However, when we have allowed the cleansing to take place and we have been made new, we are in the arms of our Creator, the One who made us to know Him and be with Him.

We realize that it was for our own good to clean out the anger, hurt, sadness, unhealthy relationships, and much more in order to be closer with our Father in heaven.

Getting fed is easy. We enjoy eating. It’s what happens after the eating that is required of us to go deeper we avoid.

May we enjoy the spiritual messages and experiences, but may we long to be cleansed of the things keeping us from growing deeper with our Maker. May we find refreshment in the renewal process. May we find comfort in the uncomfortable, so we may experience the grace and peace of our Father.

Peace and blessings friends!

QUESTION: What is something God needs to remove from you in order to get you closer to Him? Why are you battling it?