The last thing I ever expected to make my life easier was garbage day. Yep, garbage day.
For the past ten years, our local waste management company has helped me organize my life by picking up our garbage every Monday.
What’s so special about Monday? Nothing really, except it’s the start of a new week.
On Sunday, I clean out the refrigerator and collect all the trash in the house. In the evening, my husband takes the full, and sometimes heavy, garbage cans to the curb where they sit and wait for the garbage truck the next day.
When I leave for work in the morning, the cans are filled with accumulated garbage. But when I return at the end of the day, the cans are empty. It’s a satisfying feeling knowing that the house has been cleared of all garbage.
But the results of this weekly ritual do not last. Within a day, more garbage is starting to accumulate, and by Sunday, we start the process of removing the trash from our home once again.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. – Romans 12:2 (NIV)
In Romans, we are instructed to remove the trash from my spiritual life. When we listen to the ways of this world, we accumulate garbage.
Here are five ways we can remove all of the trash and renew our hearts.
Confess your sins to God
Our sins weigh us down and hold us hostage. But the healing power of confession restores our relationship with God and sets us free.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9 (NIV)
Read scripture
Immerse yourself in God’s word. They are alive and will clean the depths of your heart and renew your spirit.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. – Psalm 51:10 (NIV)
Forgive
When we refuse to forgive someone who has hurt us, we become bitter. It drains our emotional energy and can affect our health. More importantly, God cannot remove the garbage of our sins unless we forgive others.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. – Ephesians 4:31-32 (NIV)
