Putting Out the Rubbish

It was seven o’clock in the morning, and I was sitting in our lounge having a time of Bible reading and prayer with the Lord. As I sat quietly, I became aware that the rubbish collection lorry was on its way to our road for the men to empty our bins. They come to us every week to take away our rubbish and recyclable items, and we are always glad when our bins are empty again. It’s so easy to take their work for granted, and we would be in a sorry state if they didn’t come and take away the rubbish. At that time in the morning, there would be very few people around to thank them, and maybe they don’t get thanked at all for their hard work.

I began to think about the fact that the Lord is always taking away our sins and cleansing us. We can come to Him any time and don’t have to wait a week for Him to cleanse us of our rubbish. It’s easy to take the Lord’s forgiveness for granted, just as we can with the refuse collectors. But it cost Jesus His life, and only through His shed blood can we be cleansed and made new on the inside.

As I thought about these things, I thanked the Lord for the way He is always cleansing me from my sin, and I prayed for the men who were emptying our bins.

Now the New Year is here, many people think of getting rid of excess things that are cluttering their homes, but maybe it is also a good idea to make sure that there is no rubbish piling up in our hearts that we need to repent of and confess to the Lord. Then He will fulfil His promise and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Prayer: Lord, I come to You. I continually need You to cleanse me from all the wrong within me. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by it all, and I long to be clean on the inside. But I thank You, Jesus, that You have paid the full price for my sin, and now You declare me “Not guilty”. Please help me to live in this truth, but never to take Your incredible sacrifice for granted. I worship You, Lord, for Your amazing grace. Amen.