It sounds pretty intimidating doesn't it? Well, we actually used to have a "closet of doom" in our old house. When you give a closet a name, you know its BAD. We warned the children not to open it, because something large may fall out of it and injure them. If you needed to put something in it, you quickly opened the door just wide enough that you could throw in whatever needed to go in there, and just as quickly slammed the door shut, hoping that nothing would fall out or escape. But, usually the door wouldn't latch because whatever was in there shifted a bit, so you would hit the door with your shoulder, not unlike a football player, to get it to latch. Not exactly a functional storage closet.
It wasn't always like that. It started out much like any other closet. But then we needed a place for one big awkward storage tote. Then a puzzle got thrown in on top of it. Then a some craft supplies, some fabric, some picture albums. It was a disorganized mess. But, instead of cleaning it up, we just added to it. That's the beauty of a closet. If the door doesn't get opened, nobody knows what's in there. The whole house could be sparkling clean, and no one knew the "closet of doom" lurked down that hallway.
I think we all have a "closet of doom". Not in our homes (all though some of us have one of those too!), but in our hearts. I know I sure did for a lot of years. My outward appearance was shiny and clean. I knew how to put on a good face and nobody had a clue what was lurking behind my inner doors.
But, God did. He knew all along. He knew what was at the bottom, he knew about the little item I threw in there from last week. He knew it all.
It wasn't until I let Him in the house and let Him have a look around that he went for THE door. I tried to stand in front of it, and keep Him from opening it, but He did it anyway. All of that ugly, bad stuff from my past that I had tried to hide away was suddenly sitting in my lap. I needed help cleaning up the mess. It was overwhelming. Thankfully, He offered to help. Through Christ, God not only cleaned up the bad stuff that had spilled out, he helped me organize all of the new, clean stuff that was going to replace it.
That's His offer for everyone, because He loves us. No matter how deep, no matter how messy or dark our closets are. And for that, I'm forever grateful.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10
It wasn't always like that. It started out much like any other closet. But then we needed a place for one big awkward storage tote. Then a puzzle got thrown in on top of it. Then a some craft supplies, some fabric, some picture albums. It was a disorganized mess. But, instead of cleaning it up, we just added to it. That's the beauty of a closet. If the door doesn't get opened, nobody knows what's in there. The whole house could be sparkling clean, and no one knew the "closet of doom" lurked down that hallway.
I think we all have a "closet of doom". Not in our homes (all though some of us have one of those too!), but in our hearts. I know I sure did for a lot of years. My outward appearance was shiny and clean. I knew how to put on a good face and nobody had a clue what was lurking behind my inner doors.
But, God did. He knew all along. He knew what was at the bottom, he knew about the little item I threw in there from last week. He knew it all.
It wasn't until I let Him in the house and let Him have a look around that he went for THE door. I tried to stand in front of it, and keep Him from opening it, but He did it anyway. All of that ugly, bad stuff from my past that I had tried to hide away was suddenly sitting in my lap. I needed help cleaning up the mess. It was overwhelming. Thankfully, He offered to help. Through Christ, God not only cleaned up the bad stuff that had spilled out, he helped me organize all of the new, clean stuff that was going to replace it.
That's His offer for everyone, because He loves us. No matter how deep, no matter how messy or dark our closets are. And for that, I'm forever grateful.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10