Worshipful Wednesday: Cleaning House - Denise Pass

10 “The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face?11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.”

I know, I know.  It is Thursday.  But I could not neglect Worshipful Wednesday, now could I?

Cleaning our house is one of those tasks that is achieved best when under pressure.  Guests are coming – suddenly every dust bunny is evident before our eyes.  But what if we just stopped caring about the cleanliness of our homes?  Eventually filth, dilapidation and maybe even disease would darken our doors.  So it is with us.

Praise the LORD that He does not leave us in our sins.  Praise God that He disciplines us and opens our eyes to see the iniquity in our lives that is bringing destruction on our own heads and separation from Him, the lover of our souls.

Our flesh does not enjoy discipline, but where would we be without it?  I shudder to think about it.  Aichan’s disobedience wrought severe consequences not solely for him, but for those around him, as well.  Before we are tempted to be angry with Aichan, though, we know we are just as culpable.  We are all easily deceived and the sins of self righteousness blind us from seeing our own errors.  Save the grace of God.

When sin is revealed the punishment meted out can seem harsh in our eyes, until we understand just how vile sin is.  God knows it destroys us and produces profound pain and consequences for His children.  If fear of punishment from a Holy God serves to motivate us to abstain from evil, praise God!  There is a standard in Heaven.  It is a Holy one, and it is unchanging.

Just like we are never completely done maintaining cleanliness in our homes (especially if you have young children in the home!), so our souls and our walk with God must continually be examined be our Holy God.  Is there something that has slipped into our lives that does not honor Him?  Do we make excuses for a behavior or a choice instead of bringing it before Him and His word, to determine whether it pleases God?

The humanistic wave of doing whatever you want will not stand before God.  We must eradicate from our lives what is displeasing to Him, for our own good.  God is not a killjoy – He is the source of all joy.  What we so often cling to is our greatest source of pain.  We can ask Him if our lifestyle or media choices please Him.  He will answer.  He loves us too much to leave us clinging to death.  When we let go of what we thought was life, we find Him and what we were really made for – to know and worship Him.

Lord, praise Your Name!  Thank You for revealing our sins to us.  Please help us to never tire of seeking You and being examined by You.  You are good!


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