Stronger Stuff: Handling Life’s Messesنموونە

Day 2: The Cleanup

When Nick begins making a mess in Stronger Stuff, he doesn’t immediately get oil everywhere. It isn’t until he tries to clean up that things get really out of hand.

When it comes to our messes and sins, we can experience something similar. Sins usually start small. A single white lie. A covetous heart. A word of gossip. Something that seems easy to clean up or cover up at the moment.

But our efforts to clean up or cover up our messes on our own usually have unexpected consequences. Sometimes, our sins will snowball, like when we try covering up one lie with another, and then another, and then another. A mess that initially seemed small can quickly turn into something overwhelming. Other times, we’ll think we’ve successfully covered up a particular sin, only for years to go by and, surprise! The sin comes to light.

Why do our efforts to clean up after our sins so often end up not working out? Why can’t we save ourselves?

The truth is, we’ve never been capable of saving ourselves. The Bible tells us we can’t save ourselves by our own works. We’re in the mess, just like Nick was. And as long as we’re covered in the mess, there’s nothing we can do on our own to make ourselves clean.

The good news is, we’re not on our own (we’ll talk more about that on Day 3). But for now, it’s important to recognize that we don’t have the responsibility of cleaning up our mess on our own. We don’t have to scramble to cover things up or sweep things under the rug. Doing so will probably just make things worse.

Instead, when we mess up, we can take a breath, acknowledge what we’ve done, and turn our attention to a better way of making things right (again, more on that tomorrow!).

Reflection: Have you ever tried to clean up or cover up a sin on your own? How did that work out? The next time you encounter a mess from your sin, how could you fight the urge to make things right on your own?

Prayer: Father, thank You for not making me responsible for saving myself. The next time I sin, would you help me resist the temptation to clean up after myself on my own? Help me take a breath and look to You instead. In Jesus’ name, amen.