There is nothing quite like the feeling of freedomâ€"The kind that comes when you have completed a task or project. Like the feeling of having a clean home and yard, when you can sit back and relax because nothing is pressing to be done. Or the feeling of having a weight lifted from your shoulders; the kind that comes when you have confessed a fault or overcome a worry or fear.

But that feeling of complete freedom is hard to reach when we insist on letting the little things weigh us down. Little piles here and there begin to clutter our paths. Many little worries turn into big anxieties that threaten to choke us. The most important thing to achieve freedom, according to the Word of God, is to guard the state of our hearts (Prov. 4:23). What we allow in will eventually flow out. Since God is most concerned with the wholeness of our hearts, His desire is that we get rid of the things that hinder us from finding freedom.

Just like you would physically care for and maintain your home, yard, or garden, take a spiritual walk through the pathways of your heart; find the areas that are overdue for some maintenance. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to those areas that you have neglected for so long. Maybe the closets of your heart need de-cluttering; feelings of sadness and doubt that keep us from hearing the voice of the Lord need to be removed. Maybe the weeds of fear and pain are choking out the roses in our garden, keeping us from really knowing God’s will for us. The little things have turned into big things and are keeping us bound instead of being able to live a free and fruitful life. Freedom can be yours if you take the time today to clean out your heart and allow God to fill it with His love, joy and peace that each of us desires most.

Suggested prayer: Dear Lord, forgive me, for I have allowed my heart to become cluttered with worries and doubts. I have let them keep me from really knowing you. Create in me a clean heart, free from anything that would keep me from you. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

1.    Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV).

Today’s Encounter was written by: Veronica B.