Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10
KJV
For the last ten years my home office has been less of an office and more of a room for "stuff". The room was a hodge-podge of shelving units, make-do desks, and an unorganized collection of books, boxes, craft items and 1/2 finished projects. There was a desk in the office, but was unusable because there was so much paper on the top of it. Enough was enough, it was becoming clear to me that just wishing the mess was gone was not going to make it so. I finally decided that the room needed a makeover. But, before I could redecorate my office I knew -- from watching home decorating shows -- that I needed to clean out the room ... as in, first clean out everything. It took me all day ... ALL DAY to move everything out. Then, with the help of my husband I proceeded to re-arrange the shelving units, organize my books, hang pictures, and throw out bags of paper. After four days of work I finally have a real office. I no longer work out of my bedroom because I can actually work in my office (My husband is happier!).
My "new" office was made possible because I first cleaned everything out of my office. My years of trying to cover-up and trying to make do had failed to create a space suitable for working; if I really wanted a working office, I had to first clean it out (not cover up or make-do). The same is true if we want to be fully used by God. We are at our best when we first clean out all the junk from our hearts; rearrange our priorities; and take care in what we put in our hearts. And just as my husband helped me get my office into shape; Our God will help us get our hearts clean so that we can be used by Him.