Got Mud?

After a hard practice or muddy game take a look at your cleats. The dirt, mud, and grass all stick together in a bonded way. Now imagine trying to play a game the next day without cleaning off the bottom of your cleats. It would be really hard for you to get ahold of the ground and you would most likely slide and fall. Your game would be all off. Not cleaning your cleats seems like a really stupid thing to do, but have you noticed that in our lives, we hold on to junk that brings us down instead of cleaning it out? We keep anger, pain, and sadness inside of us so that we will appear to have it all together. The reality is that hanging on to these things is ultimately affecting our lives and our relationship with Jesus. When we do this, it messes with our game. It causes us to stumble and fall. We can’t very well stand our ground in this world if we ourselves are constantly falling over. It is time for us to clean off our cleats and clean out our hearts. James 4:8 states it in a pretty clear way: “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” If we want our spiritual walk to be better, we need to clean house! We need to get rid of all that is holding us back from reaching our full potential in Christ. “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a];” Galatians 5:13. Cleaning your heart may be a difficult thing for you to think about, but with the help from an all-powerful God, I assure you, you will be able to do it. The great thing about God is that He wants you even at your lowest point. God doesn’t want you to wait for the mud to dry on the bottom of your cleats so that they look a little bit better when you give them to him. He wants you to hand him your wet, slimy, and mud-covered cleats because even when you think you are too far gone, he will still be able to help you get cleaned up. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28. So stop falling over, give your mud to God and He will see your worth even then.