by Maggie Buckley
This past weekend our senior minister, Brad Wilson, wrapped up our “Makers” teaching series talking about the forgiveness that we have received from God, and have the opportunity to pass on to others. The ability to forgive others is one of the things that sets us apart as disciples of Jesus. As Brad shared this past weekend,
“Our church is filled with people who all have imperfections, but what is beautiful is how God chooses to use us to do some unbelievable things in spite of our failures. . . . There is something powerful in getting to the place with God in which you realize that you don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to pretend. When we recognize that there’s a lacking on our part and that God fills in that lacking with himself, it is much easier for us to move forward.”
In case you missed it, here’s that teaching from this past Sunday.
God takes away our junk and fills us instead with his goodness so that we can be considered whole in his sight.
Our Trash
I’m not sure we all fully appreciate our garbage collectors.
We drag out all of our trash: our smelly food leftovers, broken-down boxes discarded from fun packages, wrappings, and trappings from holiday gifts, crushed soda pop cans, snotty Kleenexes . . . a whole assortment of stuff that we just want someone to “make go away.” Our garbage collectors come (for a fee, of course, but when you really think about what they are gathering up, it’s probably not near enough!) and take all of that garbage away. You don’t have to think about where it’s going (unless you are hyper-environmentally-conscious). You don’t have to worry if it will come back and appear strewn all over your front lawn. In a few moments (they really are quick!), all of your trash has disappeared . . . gone . . . POOF!
What if someone could do that for our mental garbage? Wouldn’t that be amazing?! What if Someone could slip into our minds and lift the burden of our worries, our anxieties, our pain, our past, our frustrations, our quirks, and all the little annoyances that plague us daily? What if that Someone would come to us—not just once a week like our garbage collectors—but daily . . . even each moment, if we asked? This Someone would be at our beck and call to collect the trash that has built up in our heart and soul. Even better, the cost of this garbage collecting service would be my personal favorite price: FREE!!! How amazing would that be?! Like a mini trash can waiting on our shoulder to collect all the stuff that beats us down.
Our Ultimate Garbage Collector
When you are a Christian you have that Someone. His name is Jesus Christ; He is Lord. He is both the Father and the Son, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, and has lived in human form. For Someone to accomplish that miracle, don’t you think he can help you purge the garbage from your mind, heart, and soul? Jesus himself speaks these words of assurance to us:
“Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes” (Matthew 6:33, 34, The Message).
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NIV).
If you have too much garbage in your heart, too much baggage in your mind, too much trash in your soul, consider calling the ultimate Garbage Collector to come and take your burdens away. He will help lift you. He will empower you. He will save you. You will be able to feel lighter, and able to conquer the things that have driven you down. Whether it is something small and petty, or large and cumbersome, God can help you.
Often, I try to handle everything in my life all by myself. I like to control things, and yet, so many things that I try to control are actually out of my control. I get angry, frustrated, and OH. SO. TIRED. In the times that I truly S T O P and ask for help from God, it is then that I feel less aggravated, and less weary. Sometimes I have to remind myself to ask for help again and again. I have to ask God to just take all of these garbage worries and garbage anxieties and garbage thoughts from my brain. I lean on Matthew 11:28 so that I can rest in the promise that God is big enough to handle my worries and problems.
I can rest free of the mental garbage that God takes away. What about you? The trash collector is waiting.
Maggie Buckley has been a member of Christ’s Church for sixteen years. A former first grade teacher, Maggie has been married to David for twenty-six years, and they have two college-age sons. She creates scrapbooking kits for digital scrapbookers, and loves her nerd room full of over 200 Funko Pop characters and action figures.