...Garbage?

April 14

Have You Closed the Lid On Your Garbage? by Rebecca McInnis

After my children married and left the house, it was time to downsize. So, I sold my three-bedroom home on two large lots and moved into a nice, two-bedroom condo in a complex closer to work where the maintenance and landscaping are not my responsibility.

However, taking out the garbage is.

Instead of just dragging a can to the curb, I now have to drive my garbage around to a dumpster. It's nicely landscaped around the dumpster, but you have to park your vehicle and walk up to the dumpster, open the door and toss the garbage in. A few months ago when I was going through this ritual, the Lord talked to me about taking out the garbage.

I had tossed the bags inside of the dumpster and started walking back to my car when I realized I had not shut the door to the dumpster. I went back and shut it and it then started the crushing process. I heard the Lord say, 'You can take the garbage out but unless you close the door, nothing happens.' Then, He started downloading.

When we take the garbage out but don't shut the lid, we can smell the odor from the dumpster. Not only do we smell it, but others do as well. Also, if the door is not shut, the compacting mechanism will not engage. When it works right, the compacting mechanism crushes and changes the shape of the trash until it is no longer recognizable and is ready for permanent disposal. Putting the lid back on after taking out the trash is vital.

We all have "garbage" in our lives, things we want to get rid of. This may include, but not be limited, to misplaced priorities, distractions, wrong attitudes, harmful relationships, offenses, idolatry, bad habits, and overt sin. Just tossing it out is not enough. We have to shut the lid.

If we don't, it won't get taken care of so we can reach in and pick it back up again. It's smelly to everyone that comes in contact with us, and it will remain as-is rather than being crushed and taken away for good.

If we want the garbage removed from our lives, the process is simple—be it great or small. All we have to do is give those things to the Lord, shut the door and turn away. He'll do the rest. He is faithful to take all of it, make it unrecognizable and assure that there will be no scent of it on us or around us.

Psalms 103:11-12 says, "For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." What an amazing, wonderful Lord!