All Must Go?

Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Matthew 6:19-21

My yard-sale sign reads, “All Must Go. Husband Says So.” I put it up whenever the time comes to purge. Yard sales are just one practical way to release my earthly treasures and loosen my attachment to things that won’t last.

Moths proved to be another way, as my sweet friend Daphne learned. She once left a prayer request on my answering machine, saying, “Please continue to pray about my moths. Evidently there are still some around here in the house, but I can’t find them. I came back from my two-week trip, and both of my traps were loaded. It has me torn up, because they are flying everywhere. So it’s all in God’s hands. I have torn this house apart, and He is the only one who can lead me to the source.”

God did lead her to the surprising source. A handyman told her that all the traps she had bought were actually attracting the moths. As soon as she got rid of the powerful traps, the moths left!

Now, there is a lesson to all of us from this handyman! Who but a professional would have suspected that the traps were causing the problem? His insight helped free Sweet Daphne from her panic about the creatures that were cluttering her mind and heart.

God is our professional handyman, spiritually speaking. He helps us learn that we need to loosen our grip on things by the power He gives us through His Spirit, so we are released to spend our time investing in things that will last: God, His Word, and people. If we pay close attention to Him, He sometimes reveals surprising culprits that are distracting us from His best and wreaking mothlike havoc on our hearts.

It’s as simple as this. God will show each of us specifically how we can clear out our hearts as we yield to Him—moths, yard sales, and all.

Yard sale or not, let go of something that you don’t need anymore.