Dust Bunnies in our Heart
Dust! It's a never ending battle. You dust one day and it's back the next. There's the dust that covers our table tops and TV screen, and then there's the dust bunnies that gather underneath tables, beds and in the corners of our rooms.
What is a "dust bunny?" It's an accumulation of our own skin cells, dirt, hair, cobwebs, and then throw in a dead bug or two. They hide in places we don't see on a daily basis. We know they're there; we just choose to ignore them and not search for them. I'm pretty good at not thinking about them until...I open my front door and the sunlight shines under my front entryway table. That's where the dust bunnies like to hang out. The light makes them so evident that I just can't ignore them any longer. I might not clean up the dust bunnies that moment, but the longer the light illuminates them, the more I'm motivated to eliminate them.
We can relate this to our spiritual life. All it takes is one small area of disobedience or neglect and the "dust" starts building up in our hearts. It's not blatant sin like stealing or adultery. Dust is the subtle stuff that slowly accumulates over time. Here's a list of a few: discontentment, worry, laziness, busyness, influence of the world, unsubmitted hearts, and the list goes on. Some "dust bunnies" are good at hiding. They hide under pride, guilt, fear, and the lies of Satan.
So where's the light to make these "dusty" areas so evident? What illuminates them so we're enlightened, encouraged, and empowered to eliminate the dust in our heart? It's God’s Word.
Psalm 119 mentions God's Word in almost every verse. It also happens to be the longest psalm and the longest chapter in the bible. I encourage you to read that chapter. Read the scriptures listed and pick one that touches your heart:
Your Word is lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105
Direct my footsteps according to your Word; let no sin rule over me. Psalm 119:133
If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples, then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:31-32
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. Ephesians 5:8-14
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart. 2 Peter 1:19
There's a battle going on every day and we need to be reading, studying, and memorizing God's Word. God's Word will enlighten, encourage, and empower us to follow His ways, His truth. When we clean up the "dust" in our hearts, the light of Jesus will shine brighter through us.
