By Joe Chesser
A fierce wind storm came through the Salzburg area last night. It wasn’t like the tornadoes that swept through Arkansas and Missouri a few weeks back destroying houses, flipping cars, ripping off roofs and uprooting huge oak trees, but it did leave in its wake a lot of debris. This morning when Areva and I went out for a walk I saw lots of Austrian folks cleaning up their yards and property. They wasted no time by putting it off ‘till later. They didn’t wait for someone else to do it for them. Even though most of them were elderly, they were “up and at ‘em” early this morning. Nor did they need chain saws and heavy equipment like in Little Rock, AR and Marble Hill, MO this spring. What I saw of the debris from last night’s storm was mostly leaves, small branches and some small apples. All they needed was a broom and a rake and some willpower. Their yards and driveways were neat and clean again before lunchtime.
You might be thinking, “So what? A few leaves and small branches are not much to worry about. That is nothing like what happens after a tornado!!” And you are right. Relatively speaking the clean-up this morning was nothing like the clean-up following a tornado. I was in Little Rock last week and I saw many roofs still covered with blue tarps, and other kinds of damage that still needs attention from the tornado that hit there last March.
However, cleaning up debris is not about the size of the storm. Rather, it is that any time there is debris lying around following a storm, most of us are quick to clean up the debris in our yards and move on with life. And that’s awesome. That’s the way it should be. And most of us gladly accept help from others when the job is bigger than we can handle alone. It is truly amazing how many neighbors and organizations are just waiting for the opportunity to help individuals and communities when they have had storm damage and need help.
Here’s where I am going with all of this. How awesome it would be if every one of us would be as quick to clean up our spiritual debris and let God restore our lives following the spiritual storms (sinful situations) that inevitably blow through us! And it doesn’t matter how great or small the spiritual storm (sin) may be, when damage is done it needs to be cleaned up, and the sooner the better. If the spiritual storm was small, contained within your own heart, a personal sin, it may be cleaned up simply by repenting and asking God to forgive you (Luk 18.13). Some spiritual storms involve others and therefore they need to be involved in the clean-up process (Matthew 5.23-24). And then there are the larger storms that require you to seek the help of others to clean-up (James 5.16).
Unfortunately, not all people have the desire or the willpower to clean up their sinful messes right away, if at all. Some are just too apathetic to do it (Revelation 3.15). Some feel it’s just too difficult and refuse to try (John 6.60, 66). Some are procrastinators (Acts 24.25). Some may want to clean up their lives, they may realize they need help, but don’t know how to do it or where to go for help (Acts 2.37).
This is one reason why the Lord wants us to open our eyes and look around to see who needs our help in cleaning up after their storms (John 4.35). Teach the lost (Matthew 28.19-20). Encourage the weak and fainthearted (1 Thessalonians 5.14-18). Correct the misguided with the truth (Galatians 6.1; 2 Timothy 3.16-17; 4.1-4). Welcome back with open arms those who repent and return (Luke 15). But most importantly, keep a watch on yourselves to make sure you are not leaving your own life cluttered with sinful debris (2 Corinthians 13.5; Galatians 6.1). And be sure to allow others to help you when they see you need it.
God gives us every tool we need to clean up after the storms that litter our lives. He also gives us abilities and opportunities to help those around us clean up the sinful debris in their lives.
What He doesn’t supply is the willpower. Only you can supply that.
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