What's In Your Closet?

A. The Stuff in Your Closet

No, I am not talking about those designer shoes and clothes in your house closet that you no longer use, although stuff life are equally important. Neither am I talking about your clean or cluttered table at work. Instead, I am talking about your personal internal affairs; those things that go on behind the scenes of your life and at the center of your mind.
.

.I am talking about things that no one except you and God know about. Things that will make you ashamed if they were revealed with your name tag on them. Things from your past that you wish are better forgotten but which have refused to go away. Things about your future that create fear in your mind and make you feel hopeless. Things that make you lose confidence and feel inferior before your friends and colleagues.

.

What about those layers of guilt and worries that hunt your soul in the middle of the night? Those tears that you wipe off as soon as you hear a knock on your door in order to hide the way you really feel. That battle of identity crises going on behind the mask of boldness and enthusiasm that you put on at social circles. That pain of resentment that is draining your emotion and making you sick. That prejudice, malice and bitterness that is bulging through the walls of your heart. These are the things I would like to call your attention to.

B. Nature of a Closet

The hidden nature of a closet makes it an easy dump site for junk and clutters. It is easy for us to project a no-stain personality on the outside and still have mess filling up every space on our inside. Most of us can neatly disguise any stress marks on our minds with a sweet smile on our face. Some of us can carry guns and machetes of resentment in our closets and still go to church while others can carry nails and hammers of vengeance in their closets and still go to work. Your closet is one area that outsiders may never get to see in your house but you don`t have to continue to keep negative stuff in it.
.
C. What You Have In Your Closet Is What You Will Put On Before the World

Although we may be the only ones who know what we have in our closet, we cannot successfully hide them forever. The reason is simple: what you have in your closet is what you will put on before the world. What lies on the inside eventually reflect on the outside. Ever had someone tell you that you look stressed, worried or afraid when you thought you were putting on your best looks? It is easy for people to see through us and know what we are unsuccessfully trying to hide. They see our closet stuff in the virtues and vices that emanate from us like overcoats and body perfume. Each of us reflects our closets although we may not be aware of this fact.
.
D. Open Up and Clean Up

Opening up your closet for cleaning is especially important because not only do the negative things we keep in our closets make us appear ugly to the world, they also rob us of joy, happiness and good health. A cluttered closet may cost us good performance and promotion at work or rob us of productivity and profit in business. A cluttered closet can make a difference between an À student and a drop-out student or a successful sportsperson and a bankrupt businessperson. Cluttered closets may deprive us of quality relationships because people treat us as we appear to them. It was John Maxwell who said “hurting people hurt people” and I agree. If you are upset inside, you will upset those around you. If you are angry inside you will irritate people around you. If you are frustrated inside you will frustrate the people in your life. Your internal affairs control your external affairs.

.

E. What You Can Do

Many people have made attempts to clean up their closet but each time they do, it soon fills up with dirt again. You may have started the year with a good New Year resolution that didn’t work. You may have tried to be nice to people who are mean to you but this only made things worse. The reason, for this, I believe, is no matter how hard we try, we will never be able to keep our closets clean by ourselves. When it comes to matters of personal internal affairs, we need the help of a good home maker and this can only be God who created the closet in the first place.
.

What you can do is open up to God for cleaning and don't be ashamed; he already knows what you may be trying to hide. Allow God to dress your wounds and don`t be afraid, he already knows the pains you are carrying within. God does powerful closet cleaning with his word. If the clutter is guilt, He can make you as clean and guiltless as if you have never sinned. If it is fear he can give you hope for tomorrow. Indeed, God is the only one who can forgive our transgressions, remove our garments of shame and cloth us with righteousness. He can make way where there seems to be no way. The good news is God is never overbooked. He is both willing and ready to clean anyone anytime.  .

Start today to fill your mind and soul with the word of God. It will replace bitter clutters with love, joy, patience, self control, goodness, kindness, hope, gentleness and faithfulness. Then you will you look good, smell good, make good friends and build good relationships. You will infuse joy to the people around you and add beauty and value to your world. You will become a better YOU!

.
God's Word to You:
I, the LORD, invite you to come and talk it over. Your sins are scarlet red, but they will be whiter than snow or wool. (Isaiah 1:18)
.
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. (Proverbs 4:23)
.
Prayer
DEAR GOD, help me to take a good look at my closet and determine what to keep and what to throw away. I open up to you for cleansing, heal my wounds and wash away my sins. In Jesus name, Amen