I spent some time cleaning under my patio furniture last Saturday. A lot of dirt and many leaves had been caught there by cobwebs. It was impossible to simply sweep it all away.
I started thinking about how difficult it is to clean out cobwebs in our hearts. I pondered about what holds sins and weaknesses there like cobwebs.
Wrong thinking
In my case, wrong thinking is major. Maybe you also find it easy to return to old patterns of thought, which lead to negative attitudes about others. Possibly you blame them for your own sins and mistakes because of past experience. Maybe you react to someone based on what you imagine she is thinking rather than her actual words. Or maybe it’s simply the fact that the two of you have long-standing issues with one another.
I tend to be very impatient with a certain person. Why? Because of thinking based on our past. When I interact with her now, the cobwebs of previous conversations catch me and I rarely live out the fruit of the Spirit, but instead, I act in the flesh.
By God’s grace, I’m working to disentangle those patterns.
Paul says, “Whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8, NET).
When I quit focusing on her negativity or dwelling on past arguments and follow this scripture, I consider what’s true and good about her. I show her the grace and kindness that God has shown me.
Is there someone with whom the past keeps you from reflecting the love and grace of God? Is there a thinking pattern in your relationship that doesn’t measure up to Phil. 4:8?
What to do
If so, confess your sins to God and to the person, if it’s appropriate. Copy this verse and put it somewhere as a handy reference before your conversations. Memorize it. Pray that the Spirit will prick your conscience when you begin to reconstruct the cobwebs of wrong thinking.
Cleaning out cobwebs in the heart is worth the effort it takes to do so!
This was originally posted 5/5/2017.
