[CrimsonTide4]

CASTING OFF THE OLD
By Sandra Clifton

"Lord, open the windows of heaven and let Your blessings roll in!" This was the prayer of my husband, Terry, and me during a rather long and financially bleak season after the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

We studied our 10-year-old file cabinet, which was so stuffed with former free-lance art and writing projects that there was little to no room for anything new. The promise of new projects was there; they just hadn't come in yet. We needed to clear some space for them.

So we rolled up our sleeves, plopped down on the floor and began the task of sorting and combing through old papers and files. Most of the old was just taking up space. We agreed to toss EVERYTHING-with the exception of things near and dear to us, things that could be merged with others things, and things misfiled.

Noon came. When we got up from the floor for lunch, we were shocked to discover that in spite of our valiant efforts to purge, we seemed to have more of the old than we'd had before!

"Something's definitely wrong with this picture," said Terry, slipping and sliding across the floor, his foot making contact with my "regroup" and "rename" files.

Often I sense the Lord is smiling about the situations we get ourselves into. In this case, I perceived that He was laughing. Here we were praying for Him to open the windows of heaven, yet how would we have seen the blessings amid the clutter and old stuff stacked around us?

Working on the purge project with my husband made me realize how easy it is-instead of getting rid of the old-to merely rename and refile it! Old grudges are a good example. The anger we feel (initially filed under "Anger") becomes "Wounds Caused to the Innocent." We build a case (and a file) and hold onto all the negatives ("I'm a victim!" "I've always been a failure!" "People are always that way!") and the file cabinet within us grows, bulging with old stuff, leaving no room for the new that God wants to bring in.

The remedy, Jesus said, for such things as grudges and anger, is reconciliation, forgiveness and letting go (see Matt. 5:21-24; 6:14-15; Eph. 4:31-32; Col. 3:12-13). Perhaps in yielding our lives each day to the Spirit of the Lord and "casting all [our] care upon Him" (1 Pet. 5:7), we can not only let go of what ails us, but we can let God in to do His work and His will-which is always great-for our lives.

The word for "casting" in the Greek refers to the act of humbling oneself and trusting everything to God. The use of the present progressive ending "-ing" shows that this act of trusting God is to be an ongoing, daily activity-a regular part of the way we live. God wants us to rely on Him for everything.

As a pack rat in rehabilitation, I invite you to join me today in letting go of what is overtaking you-and turn to God, who is over all things (see Col. 1:17; 2:9-10). Jesus Christ, the Way Maker, has already made a way for you and me to walk in victory, past the rubble and blockades of past hurts and failures-by His work on the cross.

You can make a fresh start by casting off the "old stuff" and letting Him work a miracle to bring fresh blessings to your life. Today is a new beginning, and there is a window of heaven open just for you.

Ask the Lord to reveal to you anything you need to release. Let go of it and yield yourself totally to Him. Continue to pray that the faith of those persecuted around the world for Christ's sake, would not waiver, but be strengthened. (Rom. 12:1-2; I John 3:22-23)