[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Wednesday, May 25, 2016

[Paul Smith]

Hello and good day to you all on this hump day.  Of course you in 
Australia and New Zealand are already in your Thursday as this message 
is being written.  Anyway I hope that your day is going well, by God's 
matchless grace and His providential care.

Steven Thompson is a freelance writer from Iowa, and about four years 
ago he wrote an article that I'd like to share with you.  Entitled 
"Cleaning My Closet," it is rendered as follows:

I finally took the initiative to write it on next week's to-do list.  
It had been years since I had attempted to clean the closet where I 
stored my good clothes, and now that I had written it down, I knew I 
had to complete the task.  The closet was so packed that I had to apply 
pressure to remove or hang clothing on the closet rod.

One morning I began the project.  I decided to divide the dress pants, 
shirts, and coats into three categories:  clothes to keep, clothes to 
give to charity and clothes to discard.  After a couple of hours of 
sorting and trying on apparel I had amassed several bags of 
clothes--some with their original tags and packaging--ready for 
transport to a local charity.  Plus, my closet actually had open spaces 
and empty hangers.

This encouraged me to get out several long-sleeved shirts still in 
their original package.  When Sunday arrived I wore one to church and 
was pleased to see the shirt not only fit the current styles but was 
also comfortable and attractive.

I realized I would not have been wearing this new shirt had I not first 
cleaned my closet.  The incident reminded me that cleaning one's closet 
could also precede finding blessings in other areas of life as well.

I realize my present life is always fully packed with some sort of 
activity, whether useful or not.  The activities resemble some of teh 
clothes I discarded.  Sometimes the activity has been given to me by 
others' demands and preferences, and though others feel these 
activities are good for me, they really don't fit my lifestyle.  There 
are activities I've outgrown, but I still hold a place for them.  Other 
activities are worn-out, and though I keep them in my life they serve 
little if any importance.  The key to having a successful life is to 
discard the old so there is room for the new that God wants to bring 
into our life.

Of course, we may find it difficult to discard certain activities in 
order to make room for pending blessings from God.  We may not be 
willing to discard an old activity or habit until we know the new one 
will work to our benefit.  Of course, that isn't an act of faith.  The 
apostle Paul notifies us of God's progression for our lives where he 
writes, "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation:  
everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" (2 Cor. 5:17).

We often imagine that if something new would appear in our lives we 
would find success, but perhaps what is keeping us from God's blessings 
is our reluctance to clean out the closets of our lives.

Thanks, Steven, for sharing this article with those reading it.  
Tomorrow's daily thought article is one that will be similar in tone, 
but it will have its difference.  As they say, stay tuned!

And that will do it for today.  Until tomorrow when, Lord willing 
another daily thought message and article will be posted, may the God 
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and 
collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian 
friend and brother, Paul