Apples of Gold

We recently purchased a new home and had to do major renovations. Completely new bathrooms, all new flooring, every wall needed paint, lots of other updates. The first time we walked in after closing we were smacked in the face with a very strong, not too pleasant scent. It reminded me of the freshening powders we used to sprinkle on the carpet, leave it for a few minutes, and then vacuum it up. But this was not the light, pleasant scent of freshness-it was rather the overpowering odor of covering up a smell for 20 something years rather than actually eradicating it. Even after all the painting, tons of cleaning, and removal of the carpet that scent still lingered faintly in the air.

Everything we could think of had been cleaned or replaced. There was not a surface or appliance which had not been thoroughly cleansed or tossed. The new walls and flooring were beautiful, but that smell… At some point it dawned on us that we were going to have to go deeper to banish this intruder. We decided to have all of the air ducts cleaned and sanitized. I’m not exactly sure what they did, but it involved a lot of disinfectant and some specialized equipment. It was a major relief when we returned to find the offending odor had been banished!

If we are honest I believe most of us have opened the fridge or the pantry to be greeted by a horrendous odor from something that had passed it’s prime. I think rotten potatoes are probably about the worst. You can reorganize your fridge or pantry and wipe it down carefully but until you remove the source of the odor that smell isn’t going anywhere and all the carpet freshener in the world will not cover it completely.

Psalm 139 is a good passage to read when we are in need of some heart surgery. If you have a few minutes, I encourage you to take some time and read the whole Psalm. There is some pretty powerful stuff in there! In verse 23 and 24 David asks God to give him a checkup.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

I don’t think any of us purposely leaves a rotten potato in our pantry. For me, it has usually somehow found it’s way out of the bag and rolled into a dark, hidden corner: slowly decomposing until that rancid smell gives its presence away.

I like to think that we don’t knowingly leave a mess in our hearts, either. Sometimes things are growing there, in a dark corner that we have forgotten about. Ever realized maybe you weren’t as healed in an area as you thought when something pokes it? Forgiveness can have more layers than an onion, and with the removal of each one we often need time, prayer, and perhaps even tears to heal properly.

Like David we all need periodic heart checkups. Sitting still and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit as he searches the crevices of our hearts can be a painful process. I don’t always like what I see. Sometimes, I am surprised by what was lurking there.

Jeremiah 17:9 says: The heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards according to what their actions deserve.

Our feelings are notoriously unreliable. Our Shih-Poo, Gus, is a master manipulator and a remarkable communicator. He knows what he wants, and he knows exactly how to make me feel bad when he doesn’t get it. Some of the things he wants are good for him like taking a walk, or even a few bites of my rib-eye which he almost certainly will get. However, he loves ice cream and basically anything else that we are eating as well. I know enough not to let him have anything with onions in it, or chocolate, but he doesn’t seem to understand when I tell him that is not good for him. Those eyes and his expression make me feel bad for doing what it best for him.

Our hearts want things that are not in our best interest as well. Sometimes we want good things for the wrong reasons or maybe we just want our own way. I’ve been learning not to assume that I know what God is up to in the middle of the process. When I think I know the plan I might try to take over the navigation. This has gotten me into trouble more than once.

Can we take some time today to check our hearts? A festering issue can cause much more damage than a rotten potato when it is suddenly revealed. The only way to avoid this is to remove the source of the smell.

Edwin Orr expressed my prayer in the following words taken from the hymn Search Me O God:

Search me, O God, and know my heart today;

Try me, O savior, know my thoughts, I pray.

See if there be some wicked way in me;

Cleanse me from ev’ry sin and set me free.