Day 1
Deep Cleaning Our Hearts
Think about the feeling you get after you deep clean your space. The clutter goes away, the surfaces get that gleaming, shiny look, and everything smells fresh and new. As you look around, you feel accomplished—like you can breathe again.
We now have entire shows about people tidying up their homes, color-coding their pantries, and minimizing their stuff. But while we may be quick to get on board with getting rid of our junk, what about the internal work of deep cleaning our souls?
Many of us are carrying around emotional baggage, and our mental clutter can be overwhelming. But instead of addressing it, we often ignore it. It’s easier to keep moving, stay busy, and distract ourselves with activity than to address the very real mental load we’re carrying.
But just as we can’t clean our houses by shoving everything into a closet, we can’t shove our emotional junk into a filing cabinet in our brains. If we do, it eventually spills out, often leading to relational conflict, physical side effects, and resentment.
We don’t have to wait until we’re at our breaking point to evaluate what’s broken. In fact, it’s a really healthy practice to regularly invite the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and clean our hearts.
We see this practice modeled for us in Psalm 51. David—known as a man after God’s own heart—has messed up. Big time. He’s just committed adultery with Bathsheba, then he tries to cover it up by allowing her husband to get killed.
He writes a plea for forgiveness, then he prays this prayer:
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 NLT
David turns his remorse into genuine repentance. He doesn’t just shove his emotions down or hide in his shame. He turns to God. He invites the Holy Spirit to do a cleansing work in his heart.
Every day, we have the opportunity to do the same thing.
When we’re overcome by guilt, shame, bitterness, rage, or unforgiveness, we can ask God to give us a clean heart. When we’re faced with temptation, we can ask God to purify us. Even on a normal day, we can ask God to cleanse our hearts and fix our thoughts on Him.
It’s time to invest in our souls like we invest in our space.
It’s important to note that deep cleaning our souls doesn’t just mean fixing our behavior. It’s deeper than that. Deep cleaning our souls starts by evaluating the state of our hearts.
In Matthew 23, Jesus is talking to Pharisees who are careful to do the right thing on tiny details but missing the right motivations in their hearts. His words capture why it’s important not only to clean the surface of our lives, but to allow the Spirit to transform our hearts:
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.” Matthew 23:25-26 NLT
Over the next few days, we’ll talk about how to deep clean our souls from toxic influences, relationships, and bitterness. But today, take some time to pause and reflect: What areas of my soul might need a deep clean?
Pray: God, create in me a clean heart. Reveal to me anything in me that is displeasing to You. Show me any areas where I might need to allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse me and help me honor You with the way I live. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Day 2
Deep Cleaning Our Shame
What would your life be like if you never experienced shame? Imagine never feeling unworthy, inadequate, or like you have to prove yourself. What risks might you take if shame didn’t hold you back?
Unfortunately, we live in a broken world, and shame is no stranger to us. In fact, shame is one of the first emotions that shows up after the first sin.
So, what is shame?
Shame is the overwhelming feeling that our mistakes become our identity. Let’s take it back to the Garden.
God tells Adam and Eve they’re free to help themselves to anything—except fruit from one tree. The serpent convinces Eve to try it, she convinces Adam, and shame quickly swoops in.
Instead of running to God to admit they made a mistake, they feebly try to hide and cover themselves up.
We do this, too. We make a mistake, and our instinct is to hide it. Or we’re too embarrassed, ashamed, or prideful to admit to God and others that we messed up, so we stew in our shame, feeling alone and broken.
Guilt says, “Eating that fruit was wrong.” Shame, on the other hand, says, “You’re bad because you ate that fruit.”
Guilt can often be the gateway to repentance, strengthening our relationship with God. Shame keeps us stuck in sin, distancing us from God.
But when we follow Jesus, we don’t have to live in shame. Jesus’ empty tomb is a resounding call for shame to come off you. Just look at what Jesus did for us:
… For the joy set before him He [Jesus] endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. Hebrews 12:2 NIV
Can you imagine how much shame Jesus endured as He faced that cross? He’s naked, beaten beyond recognition, and about to die a very public death. And yet He endured the shame of the cross so that we could overcome shame once for all.
That’s why the answer to shutting down shame isn’t self-help. It’s not doing good things. It’s not telling ourselves we’re awesome. It’s not ignoring our mistakes or compensating for them.
The answer to shame is an empty grave. And when we focus less on what we’ve done and more on who God is and what He’s done for us—we’re on our way to conquering shame.
The next time you’re trapped in a toxic shame spiral, convinced that what you’ve done disqualifies you from the family of God, here’s the truth you declare:
I am not ____. Because of Christ I am ____.
I am not bad. Because of Christ I am forgiven. (*Romans 8:1, **John 3:17)
I am not broken. Because of Christ I am loved. (***John 3:16)
I am not enough, Because Christ in me is more than enough. (****Romans 8:37)
Whatever lie shame is telling you, shut it down with God’s truth.
* There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1
** God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17
***For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
****"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." Romans 8:37
Pray: God, I don’t want to separate myself from You any longer. Shame says that I’m too much, too bad, too messed up for Your love. But You say that because of Christ, I am loved, worthy, chosen, called, and forgiven. Replace my lies with Your truth. Thank You, Jesus, for conquering shame and offering freedom. In Jesus’ name, amen.
