I was awakened this morning by a dream. We were moving to an unseen furnished apartment for a season. I opened the door on moving day to discover it was furnished indeed. The rooms were packed full of antique furniture. Not grand, gorgeous pieces. It was more like pieces inherited from Aunt Myrt and Uncle George and Aunt Sally—all safely gathered in.

Furthermore, all the surfaces were cluttered with knick-knacks and collectables, things deemed valuable in their day. It was claustrophobic before we brought anything in.

I was overwhelmed, thinking, “There isn’t even any place where we can put our Bible’s down.” It was mild compared to some dreams, but it seemed real. I was instantly wide awake.

They say dreams grow out of the brain’s processing of life. Robert joked that my dream is a picture of my brain. It’s so cluttered, that there isn’t room for anything else—such as learning to use new technology.

I’ve been trying to de-clutter and get rid of unnecessary stuff in our home. Maybe that’s where the dream originated. At least it motivated me to be more aggressive about cleaning out unnecessary items.

However, what stuck with me is that my dream is a heart picture. We treasure things in our heart. We gather them safely in, guarding them from harm. They feel comfortable, warm, and tend to shape how we see ourselves. Many—hopefully most—are pleasant.

Some are not so pleasant. In fact, they’re bad—even harmful—but we hold them just the same, unsure how to let go. After all, they are part of us too.

While things of the past are not bad, it’s possible to hold them– and the identity gained through them–so tightly that it prevents us from moving forward. They can bind us so we don’t have room for God to speak into the present.

Or maybe it is not things of the past that fill us, but things of the world. Do we spend all our time chasing things that are important in the culture/world, but are of no consequence in eternity? Does keeping up with the Joneses (in fashion, home, entertainment, power, . . . , even ministry) crowd our life so much that we don’t have time for God?

Paul’s words to the Romans are applicable today. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2).

The contents of the apartment in my dream were not bad things, but together they were not good or acceptable and were far from perfect. Transformation was needed before I could live there.

I woke up because my brain switched into overdrive to find a solution. And I question, do I need to do the same with my heart and mind?

In order to be transformed by the renewing of our heart and mind, we need to get rid of the old (idols, priorities, wounds, beliefs, habits, identity,…) so we can embrace the new. To know the will of God, we need to be free to walk in His freedom and grace so we can walk in His way.

In the effort to keep up with responsibilities, it’s easy to hang onto things without realizing it. However, If we try to hold the old and the new at the same time, we’ll hate the one and love the other (Matt. 16:13)—and we tend to gravitate toward what is familiar and comfortable.

In the dream, I walked into somebody else’s clutter and was overwhelmed. With our own clutter, it builds gradually and we grow accustomed to it, but it can overwhelm us without us realizing it. It weighs us down, distracts, and hinders us, impeding our walk with the Lord.

God’s yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt. 11:30). If we’ve been burdened down and overwhelmed, it’s time to clean house, to get rid of stuff in our lives that keeps us from experiencing all that God has for us.

Lord, help us clean house and make you preeminent in our lives, so we can experience righteousness, peace, and joy in You.