We all have a tremendous amount to do these days. Sometimes it helps to get a little productivity guidance at times. Reading David Allen’s books on productivity over the years has provided great insight into Getting Things Done (link to Amazon). In fact, once a year I try to look back over the basic principles he provides as a way to stay on track.
He has a great quote that I often think about. “Sometimes the greatest gain in productive energy will come from cleaning the cobwebs.” In other words, when we get things in order, it easy much easier to manage what we have as well as be able to deal with new things that come our way.
Earlier in the summer, I made a project list that included several opportunities to clean out the cobwebs in my home. Closets, drawers, cabinets, and shelves whose contents needed to be sorted, sifted, disposed of, or given away. Cleaning out the cobwebs restores order, reduces stress, and allows us to get ready for whatever is around the bend.
Perhaps cobwebs can be found in other places as well. At times, we allow spiritual cobwebs to take up residence in our hearts. Maybe it is unconfessed sin, bitterness that we have allowed to take root, areas of disobedience, or the parts of our lives that we haven’t allowed God to truly take over. Whatever the cobwebs might be in our hearts, they can clutter our lives. They add to our stress and chaos. They can keep us so off track that we don’t recognize or aren’t able to take on the opportunities that Christ sends our way. And they can keep us from experiencing the true joy that comes from being a follower of Christ.
It is all too easy to allow our hearts to get overwhelmed and it doesn’t take very long for the clutter to build up. The more those cobwebs get comfortable hanging out in our hearts, the more they seem to multiply. A step in the wrong direction of our lives can easily lead to another wrong turn. Left unchecked, the bitterness can continue to fester and blossom taking away the joy our hearts once experienced with relationships and instead leaving us with feelings of emptiness and loneliness. The guilt and shame that tag right along with unconfessed sin add to our stress and weaken our health.
When we made the decision to allow Christ to take over our hearts, we invited Him to remove the cobwebs. To restore order and remove the clutter and chaos. If reading this today, you realize that you have never made this decision, consider reading Christ’s Simple Plan. Regardless, everyday we have to guard our hearts from the enemy (Proverbs 4:23). When we spend time with our Savior through prayer and Bible Study, our hearts become more guarded against sin.
When we allow Satan to get a foothold into our hearts by adding these cobwebs, he wants us to believe that we are unforgiveable. That surely Christ has given up on us. That we are not worthy of the love of our Savior. Scripture is clear about this. He is not giving up on us. He isn’t through with us. He has so much to teach us. So many ways He desires to use us for His glory. His work in us isn’t done.
Paul wrote this verse as a letter to the church at Philippi. He was writing to encourage them while he was sitting in a prison (now that is a dedicated writer!). Paul certainly knew what it meant to suffer and he struggled with cobwebs of his own at times but even while sitting in that prison he understood the joy that comes from allowing Christ to take over. To allow Him to finish the good work in our hearts that He started.
My prayer is that we search our hearts for cobwebs. That we come before Christ with humility and submission and allow Him to restore order, to reduce our stress, and prepare us for whatever is around the bend. Perhaps you had a summer project list like me. And with the start of school approaching, this summer is too quickly coming to a close (summer has to be the fastest season there is!). The time to tackle the cobwebs is now. Don’t delay. Christ is waiting to get your heart in order.
