“Jesus came to Earth to save us from something. What could it be?” I thought. He came to free me from a life of selfishness and sin, and from all my bad habits. God wanted my home to fully reflect the order of Heaven, both inside and out.

This would only be possible if I allowed Jesus to reign on the throne of my heart, my thoughts, and my actions. Would I filter everything through Christ and allow Him to be my Lord, the Guide of my life?

The root of all problems!?

I began to realize that the problem with the failures in my life was because I didn't have the habit of staying in union and communion with God and with Heaven. I realized it was natural to consult and converse with the “self”," but in doing so, I served sin, selfishness, and my old habits. Matthew 1:21 says that Jesus came to save me *from* my sins, not *in* them! Jesus wants to deliver me from a life of self-sufficiency to a spiritual life in Christ. He will do this by leading me to have such an intimate relationship with Him that through union and communion with Heaven, my mind and my home will be changed.

I longed to be free from all disorder and impurity, and I was determined to follow Jesus instead of my own self. But how can I get organized? How can I relate to Jesus and let Him guide me? How can I learn to follow Him? I wished my home had that heavenly love that reflects proper organization in every room of the house, as well as in the chambers of my mind, my words, and my actions. As I thought and meditated on this, I looked at my house and asked myself: “What would Jesus want changed in my home?” I looked around; normally, everything was clean and in order.

Learning from God

The thoughts my Friend and Savior placed in my mind as an answer were something like this: “It looks very good on the outside, but I would like to suggest more order, cleanliness, and deeper organization in your home, and that begins in your mind.” Jesus was speaking through my conscience, my reason, and my intellect. His gentle and delicate voice was a thought, not an audible voice; however, I felt deep within me that it was the voice of God. It sounded exactly like 1 Corinthians 14:40, which says: “But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.”

God speaks to me and to you in this way. He loves us with such intensity. Even so, many of us initially don't perceive or recognize that this voice comes from God and from Heaven. Jesus wants to have such an intimate relationship with us that He can guide every detail of our lives. If we only cooperate first with God's thoughts, then our words and actions will be divinely inspired and empowered to do what is right. He desires to walk and talk with us as He did with Enoch in the past.

This was what I wanted, but I felt shy and fearful. I struggled to know what to do, so I asked: “What are Your suggestions for me?”

“Everything in Heaven is pure, clean, and well-organized. 'Everything' means more than just the center of the floor being clean and tidy. Are the corners clean too? Are the drawers of your corner table in order? Your desk, your windows, your cupboards, your attic, your garage, your car, even your garden?” God's principles are thorough and apply to everything! “Sally, have you read about modesty in dress? I would also like to help you organize your wardrobe, if you invite Me.” Has God put these or similar thoughts in your mind? God wants to help us, and that is why He reveals to us the need for changes in our lives.

Finding Power

“Without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5. But… “with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26. “I will counsel you with My eye upon you.” Psalm 32:8. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5. Be “…good homemakers.” Titus 2:5. When God shows me areas in my home that need to be changed or restored, I feel He is there with me, making it possible through His divine hand in mine.

He begins by changing my attitude toward that task. As I cooperate by thinking: “With God, I can do this, and I will!” I discover that His divine power assists my weak efforts, which not only clean the drawers of my end table, making them neat and organized, but also change my attitudes.

Cooperating with Jesus in this way makes the changes lasting, for they began with my mind and heart, empowered by Heaven. Then, through repetition, God can recreate my habits, and as a result, my character is transformed. This is how new ways replace old ones, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” Galatians 2:20.

How It All Began

One day I felt God wanted to restore my kitchen. He wanted me to do it, but through Christ in me, not by my human willpower. This is the application of Galatians 2:20. First, my old thoughts and habits must be crucified. I need to abandon them, and that can only happen by paying attention to God-guided thoughts.

Christ can truly change my thoughts and desires, my heart, my habits, and even my old ways of working or reacting – anything I place under His care! Have you experienced this too? He can change every way of thinking or acting, whether inherited or cultivated. This is the restoration of my inner self; it's the inside of the closet of my heart and life that God desires to restore and transform. He teaches me this spiritual application by physically showing me what is needed to restore order and cleanliness to my kitchen cabinets. How did God do this for me?

Organizing my home started with one room. I can't mentally or physically tackle the whole house at once, but God inspired me to start with one room. This I can manage with Jesus. I use my kitchen daily, so I thought that would be a good place to start. Once I get it in order, I'll need to practice some new cleaning habits daily to maintain that order.

Starting with one room, cleaning and organizing it with Jesus; then adding the next room while maintaining order in the first. Following this path, guided by God, until the entire house, yard, garage, and garden achieve the order of Heaven. First, God guided me with the general plan in my mind, but I still had to learn to cooperate, listen, and follow Jesus every moment.

I looked at my kitchen and asked God: “Where do I begin?” Even this single room seemed too much for me; I felt despair knocking at the door of my heart. “Trust in God’s power available to you, and avoid focusing on your weaknesses and inabilities”, was God’s suggestion to my mind. I replied: “Lord, help me!”

The thought continued: “Why don’t you start with that cupboard; you have time for it today.” These thoughts are the “still, small voice” from Heaven leading me in the path of righteousness. It is God encouraging me, reminding me that He is with me and will empower me to accomplish His will.

Decide and Act

Making decisions is an important part of getting organized. I decided to do this, guided by God. To my surprise, when I started sorting through the items in the cupboard and drawers, I found one pile of things that didn't belong there, another pile of things to throw away or sell, and a third pile of things that needed to be put back in the cupboard.

As I thought about the cupboard's contents, I decided it would be more logical for mixing and serving utensils to be closer to the stove for easier access and more efficient kitchen work. Knives and peelers would be placed near the cutting board. This would result in greater efficiency and a new order of things.

This cleaning and reorganization of cupboards and drawers became more complicated than I initially imagined; but oh, what a feeling of assurance that this was the right thing to do and that I would be happier with all this work and effort! The Lord was truly guiding and empowering me for this task, and I felt great joy within me.  

Near the end of this restorative adventure, I became annoyed when doubt arose in my mind and heart. The “self” and Satan also suggested thoughts to me. I need to learn to discern which Spirit I will listen to and serve. The Lord guided me to persevere by surrendering thoughts and feelings of discouragement to Him, and Jesus freed me from those evil thoughts and feelings with His transforming grace. My mind, heart, and kitchen cupboards were undergoing a similar cleansing, transformation, and reorganization as I cooperated with Heaven. Through my surrender and God's grace, I was able to accomplish this that day. The next day, God and I would focus on another section of my kitchen. And that is how my kitchen became completely clean and organized with Jesus.

Spiritual Reorganization: The Root of Everything!?

I began to see that the organization of my kitchen and my cupboards first began with the organization of my attitudes and my thoughts. Some attitudes needed to be discarded, some simply straightened out. Having Jesus with me was and continues to be the secret to success. The physical organization was teaching me spiritual organization of my mind and my heart. Putting them in order is a big job, and maintaining them requires “small, frequent attentions.” Just as in the physical realm, so it is in the spiritual realm – only God can clean the chambers of my mind and my heart! Therefore, I need to surrender to Him every time wrong attitudes and thoughts are identified as disorganized, and He will be faithful in cleansing them with my cooperation. Then I stopped and looked at my kitchen. God led me to think: “Is my kitchen counter  appealing? Is it organized and clean?” God wanted me to exercise reflection and evaluate the work.

I saw that the counter was cluttered with things. So, I made the following consideration about each item: “Does this really need to be out here? This item makes the counter cluttered; I'll put it away. Now it's better. This really doesn't need to be here!” This process continued until, trying different ideas, I could finally say: “Now, this looks beautiful! With just a few items on it, it looks more organized and appealing. Lord, does anything else need to change?” While my conscience was silent, my inner being was satisfied and joyful. My kitchen was very pleasing to the eye, both inside and out. It had been restored through submission, effort, and God's grace.

First, we need to learn to be guided by God and to hear His voice speaking to our conscience. Recognizing it comes with daily, moment-by-moment repetition of new habits of thinking and reacting with Christ, which leads to new organizational habits replacing old habits that permit disorder. Now, with this new method of union, communion, and submission, I can take Jesus with me when organizing my bathroom, my bedroom, my pantry, attic, garage, etc., until the entire house is clean and organized through empowering divine grace.

I decided to give away or sell the excess things that, when organized, don't fit in my house, my drawers, and my cupboards. I need to evaluate the difference between need and desire, filtering everything through Jesus. Years later, when we moved to Montana, God asked me for another, deeper cleaning of the cupboards, as the size of my kitchen had been drastically reduced. I had four sets of dishes in my small kitchen. With the reduced space, it was necessary to replace them with a larger set of durable dishes, which I bought with the sale of the other four sets. Now everything fits perfectly.

God helped me to be rational and capable of making difficult decisions. One of those sets had sentimental value – it had belonged to my grandmother – even so, I didn't have space to store it properly. You too will have your own trials and difficulties in keeping your home in order according to Heaven, but Jesus is by your side to help, empower, and guide you. Follow Him!

Knowing God

Getting organized is a good way to know God in a very personal way. As God helped me put my kitchen in order, I learned many practical lessons about how God wants to clean the cupboards of my mind and heart. Erroneous or enslaving thoughts get stuck in the recesses of our minds and need to be discarded, just as, under God's direction, some things needed to be eliminated from my kitchen cupboards. When God reveals these things to me, He is asking me: “Do you want this? Can I eliminate this for you?” It is God's power within me that, along with my effort and cooperation, cleanses my mind, my desires and appetites, or anything else. Isn't God wonderful? Jesus tells me: “The life you received from Me can only be preserved through continuous communion. Without Me, you cannot overcome sin or resist temptation.”

John 15:4 says: “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you.” To remain in Christ means to constantly receive the Holy Spirit, a life of unreserved surrender to His service. The channel of communication between man and his God must be continuously open. Like the branch of the vine that continually draws sap from the living vine, we must cling to Jesus and receive from Him, through faith, the strength and perfection of His own character.

Organizing Time

Putting my house in order according to Heaven also requires a schedule for everything and places all important things in their proper time. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” “Yes, Sally, you need to organize your life, your daily activities, within a schedule. You need regularity, and you are the manager of the home. You need time to sleep, to wake up, and to commune with Me. You also need time to study, rest, think, and evaluate. You also need to learn that there is a time to speak and a time to be silent; a time to work, a time to play, a time to rest, a time to eat and to fast; a time to plant and a time to harvest.” Planning my day with Jesus guiding me is the way to achieve divine success. Organizing my life within a schedule is a necessity, not an option!

Putting my home on a consistent schedule with a bit of flexibility was a great blessing, but at the same time a challenge for me. It was better for me, for my family, and for our walk with Jesus. I must admit that consistently preparing breakfast on time challenged my old habits.

Simple or Complex Changes

You will also find that some changes are easy and others are difficult. Take Jesus' hand; He wants to walk and talk with you through every change. Jesus came to save me from my selfish, unheavenly habits. He is my Creator and Redeemer, if I walk and talk with Him. A schedule sets aside time for everything that is a priority or necessary in my life. As my grandmother always used to say, referring to keeping the house in order: “Everything has its place, and everything should be kept in its place. It's the best way to live.”

Does God Care About Details!?

God cares about every detail of my home's organization and wants to help me. It is God who invites my mind and heart to organize and maintain order. As I respond to the influence of the Holy Spirit, the power of Heaven enables me to consistently do my part with a joyful heart. God truly cares about every detail of my life. He reminded me, for example, to check the refrigerator door, and I found it ajar. He prompts my mind when I see something on the floor that should be put away.

When I'm putting clothes away in my drawers and they're getting disorganized again, a thought occurs to me: “A moment of effort to reorganize this drawer now will save hours another day.” God is with me, guiding me, because He loves me very much. I find peace and happiness when I follow my Savior.

Sadness and Frustration

Disorganization brings sadness and frustration. It often happened to me, for example, that I would clean the dryer filter too late and feel guilty for having thought about cleaning it the day before but not doing it. This causes unnecessary work for Jim, because over time he has to remove all those lint fibers from the long dryer hose that runs under the house.

I cried out to the Lord in frustration: “Lord, can I learn to clean this regularly and on time?” “I can help you,” was the thought God placed in my reasoning, intellect, and conscience. “Can You, Lord? I mean, I know You can! Help me, Lord, help me remember, somehow.” Jesus prompted my mind: “Why don’t you choose one day of the week to do that, so that it becomes part of your schedule and you do it at that time?” I replied: “That’s wonderful, Lord; yes, let’s do that. So I’ll choose Thursday, and I know the Lord will be faithful to remind me; the Lord won’t forget like I do!”

Immediate response

God then gently reminded me that I need to heed Him when He reminds me. When Jesus reminded me the following Thursday, I immediately heeded the thought, for that was my responsibility in cooperation with Heaven. I discovered that God goes beyond that still. One Tuesday I was doing laundry and the idea came to me to clean the filter. My thought in response was: “But today isn’t Thursday!” “But,” God continued to reason with me, “you’ve washed a lot of extra laundry; why don’t you check?” When I checked, the filter was indeed full! God is good and will be our constant companion, guiding us in every detail of our lives if we surrender to His care and cooperate.

Worth a try!?

Why don't you try God? Learn to recognize His voice so that He can guide you through life, to get your home physically in order according to Heaven's design. Then apply the lessons learned to your spiritual life, marriage, and raising children. What do you want God to restore and put in order? God is faithful to guide all the sheep who follow Him, making Him their Shepherd. To get organized, you must start by maintaining unity and fellowship with Christ, our Savior.

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Empowered Living.
Written by: Sally HohnbergerTranslated by Vera Michel de Matos
Used with permission from the Empowered Living Ministries project www.empoweredlivingministries.org.

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