Our family is going to be moving house shortly and the process has reminded me again of the junk we accumulate through life. Relocating is an opportunity to take stock, assess what’s taking space in your home and then decide whether it has value or purpose and needs to stay, whether it’s no longer useful for you but could be a blessing to someone else and can be passed on, or, whether it’s actually rubbish and needs to be thrown out.

It’s a time-consuming process to sift, sort and then execute the decision made for each item and belonging, it can be a messy process (things might look worse before they get better) but if you want to move forward then it’s necessary.

There’s something about getting rid of junk that allows you to clean properly. Much like when people ‘clean’ for their cleaners. What they really mean is they need to sort the clutter, make space and tidy things up so that the deep work of cleaning can take place.

“Jacob told his family and all those who lived with him, “Throw out all the alien gods which you have, take a good bath and put on clean clothes, we’re going to Bethel. I’m going to build an altar there to the God who answered me when I was in trouble and has stuck with me everywhere I’ve gone since.””

Genesis 35:2-3 MSG

I wonder what “alien gods” you’ve accumulated in your life recently. What things have snuck in and begun to take up space preventing you from living junk-free and clean? What distractions have stolen your time? What responsibilities have filled your schedules? What unforgiveness, pride, jealousy or anger is clogging up your heart preventing God from getting in there and doing the deep clean it needs?

Don’t be afraid of the mess that might occur in the process of getting rid of your junk. God answered Jacob when he was in trouble and He’ll answer you too. Let him help you with the sifting, sorting and cleaning, he’ll stick with you throughout.