I can still hear my mom as she pulled aside the curtains and opened all the windows in the house when spring arrived. “Whooppee!” she would say over and over between phrases she sang of the hymn We’ll Work till Jesus Comes by Elizabeth K. Mills. This always indicated the beginning of spring cleaning—not my favorite thing to do! As I did whatever chores I was assigned at the time, I felt like we were actually going to be cleaning till Jesus came back!
When mom would sing the chorus:
We’ll work till Jesus comes,
We’ll work till Jesus comes,
We’ll work till Jesus comes,
And we’ll be gathered home.
I would often reply singing the stanza:
O land of rest, for thee I sigh,
When will that moment come?
When I shall lay my armor by
And dwell in peace at home?
I, of course, intended my stanza to ask when I could lay down my “cleaning supplies” instead of “armor.” This just made mom sing louder and with more passion, “We’ll work till Jesus comes ….”
Mom said we needed to let the fresh air and sunshine into the house as we cleaned and got rid of all the stuff that had gathered over the long winter months while the house was closed up tightly to keep the cold air out. I always had to start with my room, which may explain why I dreaded spring cleaning!
Admittedly, it was a great feeling to walk through each room of the house after spring cleaning. Everything smelled and looked fresh and clean. Everything was put in its proper place and you could walk through any room without fear you would step on or trip over something on the floor that shouldn’t be there.
Today I do not approach spring cleaning with the same excitement and passion my mom did, but I always sing We’ll Work till Jesus Comes when I am cleaning or working on a big project!
Of course, Mom would always go on to make a spiritual application. She would say that our hearts and minds often need a good spring cleaning—not just in the springtime. We regularly find our hearts and minds cluttered and jam-packed with sinful, useless, or unorganized things.
In the same way you approach spring cleaning your home, approach your spiritual spring cleaning: we dust, wipe, shampoo, deep clean, buff, pick up, throw away, sweep, vacuum, and mop. Let’s see how we use these cleaning techniques in our spiritual lives.
How long has it been since you have dusted off your Bible and engaged in reading, studying, memorizing, meditating and contemplating upon God’s word? Sadly, our time in God’s word is merely a quick reading to which we give little thought once we have read the passage. Psalm one tells us that the righteous person delights in the law of God and meditates on God’s word continually.
How long have you been grieving the loss of a loved one, a relationship, a job, your health, or something else? Perhaps it is time to take your grief to the Lord and ask Him to enable you to develop an eternal perspective on these losses as He strengthens you to work through your grief and refreshes your faith and trust in Him. Psalm 30:50 tells us “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”
What hurts are you nursing and thereby growing deep roots of bitterness? Talk with God about your hurts and ask Him to help you work through them and wash (shampoo) them away. Ask Him to forgive you of any sin in your life that relates to these hurts and ask for wisdom to know how to resolve the issue with the person or persons involved, so that you can forgive each other and restore your relationship with God and each other.
What unconfessed sin lurks in the hidden recesses of your heart and mind? It’s time to ask the Lord to do a deep cleaning, as the Psalmist did,
Search me, O God and know my heart! Try me and know my thought! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
Psalm 139:23-24
Once you are aware of unconfessed sin, be quick to confess, repent, and ask forgiveness for that sin. Then walk in the freedom of that forgiveness.
Do you have a vibrant prayer life, or has it become dull? Just like we clean and buff our floors, we need to buff our prayer life. Our prayer life becomes dull because of unconfessed sin which needs to be dealt with, as I outlined earlier. Sometimes our prayers are nothing more than routine words we say. Perhaps a study of prayer would help you better understand what prayer is and how to pray. I recommend you read and study: Prayer: It’s Not About You by Harriet and the accompanying Study Guide on Prayer—A Companion to Prayer: It’s Not About You that I wrote.
We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.
John 9:4
Mom would always make sure to remind me that we must work to continually keep things clean and in order around the house and in our spiritual lives. She would also make sure I knew that song meant that we are to work for God—share the gospel, help those in need, make disciple-makers, and other things God has for us to do—until we take our last breath here on earth.
*Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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