From Physical to Spiritual Spring Cleaning

It’s officially spring . . finally. Then again, spring means different things to different people. Yes, it heralds warmer weather, but “warm” is relative, depending on your location.

Apart from changes in the outside temperature, spring also brings an annual practice regardless of where you live: the tradition of spring cleaning. Airing out rooms and replacing heavy blankets with lighter coverings. Mopping floors and tackling dirty windows. Cleaning out closets, packing winter wardrobes, and bringing out lighter, brighter clothing.

While all those tasks are good, I’m ready to take spring cleaning to another level.

Letting Go of the Physical

For years, I said I needed to declutter, but it was never a priority. Then, as a new season of life brought loss and health challenges, the need to clean out closets became more pressing.

I began by asking God to increase my desire to let go of “stuff.” It wasn’t all bad. I had lots of good stuff in my closets. Good, but not needed. And garage sales taught me that the good things I didn’t need would have better homes with other people who did need them.

Spiritual Spring Cleaning

The more I cleaned out my physical closets, the more I became convicted about my spiritual ones. I asked God to increase my desire to let go of spiritual “stuff” too. To be intentional about discarding emotionally and spiritually draining contents crammed into the cluttered closets of my heart. Junk such as pride, unforgiveness, and discouragement.

King David understood the weight of sin’s baggage when he wrote in Psalm 32:3-5,

“When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

And again in Psalm 51:10, when David wrote, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Even the writer of Hebrews 10:22 understood the value of cleansing when he wrote, “Draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

But I also needed discernment. Not all the things I needed to let go of were bad. It’s just that not all good things are “God” things for me. Discernment was necessary to remove the good in favor of the best.

Of course, cleaning spiritual closets is something I should do year-round. Still, spring is as good a time as any to be intentional about spiritual self-evaluation and a cleaning reset!

Blast From the Past

Writing about spiritual spring cleaning reminded me of a song I first heard in the 1980s. Christian folk-rock singers Mickey and Becki Moore recorded a song titled, “Closet Spaces.” Here’s a link for your enjoyment!

What spiritual closet spaces is the Lord prompting you to tackle this spring?