Get Rid of the Clutter

by Alexandra Copeland

The psalmist, King David, wrote in Psalm 51:10(KJV), “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” David understood that things will not go right for us when our hearts are not what they should be. When we’re harboring things like pain, resentment, shame, and guilt, it will become increasingly challenging to live a fulfilling and satisfying existence. We can think we’ve got everything under control, and we may even believe that our way is the right way, but if our hearts are not pure towards God, even our best plans will come to a standstill. We might end up meeting disappointment after disappointment when our hearts are cluttered with the wrong things, and this isn’t what God wants for us.

Although he ruled God’s people about three thousand years ago, the life of King David holds many lessons about walking with God that we must learn today. David was vexed miserably by Saul's numerous attempts to kill him. Saul had been king and became vengeful when learning that God had chosen David to lead His people. David wrote continual pleas to God for help against his antagonist, Saul, but this is not the case in Psalm 51:10. He doesn't pray for God to preserve his reputation, or to let him put Saul to shame and have honor among the people of Israel. His great concern was to have his corrupt nature transformed.

One of the questions we should ask about this verse is why God inspired the use of the word ‘create’ in this scripture. This word ‘create’ suggests that something needs to be made from scratch; that it will be produced or set into existence by something greater than itself. Well David's heart had been created. It was already in existence, but he had a heart transplant in mind, and he knew just the right doctor who could perform the surgery. Some of us living today need this same procedure; we need God to give us a new heart.

This is not the heart organ that pumps blood throughout our bodies that we’re talking about here. It’s the heart of the soul. It’s the innermost part of our beings, and some of us have a heart that is so cluttered with the wrong things, that we can’t see our way to offer it to God. When we’re so boggled down with doubt, worry, fear, and darkness, we ought to ask Heavenly Father to create in us a new heart, a clean heart that is free from the bondage of darkness and sin. This is the only way to get rid of the clutter that is in our lives today.

The very fact that David prayed for God to create within him a clean heart and to renew a right spirit within him tells us something very important about David. It tells us that he was humble before the Lord. David realized that he needed God to do something that he, David, couldn’t do himself. David recognized that he wasn’t where he needed to be in his relationship with God. He knew a clean heart was the way to get closer to the Father.

God wants us to come to Him for help. He knows our predicaments. He knows our past, present, and our futures. He created us. Ephesians 2:10(NLT) says, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”  God made plans for us to do good things long before we ever entered our mother’s wombs. The heart is key to doing the Will of God and living our lives with purpose, satisfaction, and fulfillment.

Jesus Christ said in Matthew 12:35 (NLT), "A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart." We are bombarded everyday with negativity and living on earth is sometimes very difficult terrain to navigate. Our hearts can become weary and weighted down, and we begin to make serious mistakes in judgment. And often we become cynical and bitter without realizing that something in our hearts is out of alignment with the Will of God. David offers us a very wise clue about how to get uncluttered and clean. We must go to God in prayer, because He wants us to live to the fullest.

We have a friend in the person of Jesus Christ, so be honest with yourself and be honest with him. Recognize when you've allowed too much hurt, pain, and suffering to clog up your arteries of love and light. Get rid of the toxicity, so blessings will continue to flow your way. Most importantly, get rid of the clutter so that your relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ will be stronger and more pleasing to Him. ●

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.