Tending the Inside of the House
Well, howdy-do there, come right on up here to this ol’ front porch, friend, and park yourself where the breeze can find you real good. Don’t fret over the dust on your shoes. Around here, we figure a lil’ bit of dirt proves you’ve done been somewhere. Folks can spend enough fixin’ the outside to make an ol’ struttin’ peacock look plum underdressed, but God keeps right on peekin’ past all the the paint, polish, perfume, and pressed collars to see what’s goin’ on in the rooms nobody else can enter.
That’s why David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). He understood somethin’ we’re mighty prone to forget. God ain’t merely interested in improvin’ our appearance. He downright wants to transform our affections, motives, attitudes, and desires.
Now, there’s nothin’ wrong with sho’-nuff’ takin’ care of the body God gave us. First Timothy 4:8 says “bodily exercise has value, but godliness carries value for both this life and the life to come.” We can lotion, walk, stretch, count calories, and chase wellness until we’re busier than an ol’ raccoon that went and discovered an unsecured picnic basket. Still, none of that can scrub bitterness out of the heart or exercise envy out of the soul.
Peter points us toward “the hidden person of the heart” and the lastin’ beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit (1 Peter 3:4). That kind of beauty don’t come bottled, powdered, polished, or sold by the ounce. It grows when we sit with Jesus, open His Word, confess what needs confessin’, forgive what needs forgivin’, and let His Spirit straighten the furniture inside our souls.
Father, search the hidden places of my heart. Clean out pride, resentment, fear, jealousy, and anything else that crowds You out. Create in me a clean heart and renew my spirit so that what others see on the outside reflects what You’re changing on the inside. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
So, now then, straighten up your bonnet, grab your Bible, and head right on back into the day with your soul tended before your appearance. A lil’ ol’ possum can polish its tail all morning and still be an ol’ possum by supper. God’s after somethin’ a whole lot deeper than any ol’ decoration. Keep the inside of the house open to Jesus because when the heart is well, even an ordinary face can shine with heaven’s finest beauty.
With joy,
Gwen
