Have you ever looked at the storage on your phone and thought, “How in the world do I have 18,000 pictures?” Especially millennials and younger generations that followed, I am talking to you! Then you start scrolling through them.

There are 14 pictures of the same sunset. A screenshot of something you were supposed to remember but have no idea why you saved it. A picture of a menu from a restaurant you went to three years ago. A blurry picture of your kid's shoe. Seven videos of the same event because you kept hitting record. And somewhere in there are 3,000 pictures you haven't looked at since the day you took them. Your phone is carrying around an entire digital attic, and eventually, all that junk starts taking up space.

That's why every once in a while, you have to go through your phone and delete some stuff. Not because every picture is bad. Not because every file is useless. Some things are worth keeping. But you have to ask a simple question: Do I really need this taking up space?

I’m using the digital metaphor of clutter and slowdown to highlight the truth of our physical and mental reality.

There is something wildly interesting about clutter. Our brains don't completely ignore the stuff around us. A cluttered environment can compete for our attention and contribute to feelings of stress and being overwhelmed.Research has even found connections between perceptions of a stressful home environment, mood, and patterns of cortisol, one of the body's major stress hormones.

Think about what happens when your desk is covered with papers, your kitchen counter is covered with stuff, your garage is packed so tight you can't get to anything, and every closet is overflowing.

You can still function, but everything takes a little more effort… That's what clutter does. Here's where this gets spiritual. We can clutter our souls the same way we clutter our phones and our houses. We collect things we were never meant to carry. Old offenses. Unforgiveness. Regret. Fear. Comparison. Jealousy. Unhealthy relationships. Constant entertainment. Endless scrolling. Opinions that don't matter. Worry about things we can't control. And sometimes we aren't spiritually empty, we might be spiritually overcrowded.

That's why Hebrews 12:1 says, “Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.” Notice that the writer says every weight, not just every sin. There are things that may not necessarily be sinful that still aren't helping us run the race God has called us to run.

That's a life changing distinction and realization. Some things aren't evil, they're just unnecessary. Some things aren't sinful; they're just taking up too much space. Some things aren't wrong; they're just getting in the way. You don't have to hate something to delete it, you just have to recognize that it no longer belongs in your life.

Jesus wants to use your mind, to use your gifts, to use your time. God wants to use your relationships, your influence. He wants to use your story and your life for His redemptive purposes. But understand, we can't keep adding more and more without ever asking what needs to go. At some point, you have to hit DELETE.

So today, I want you to do something practical. Delete some junk from your phone. Go through those old pictures. Get rid of the apps you never use. Clear out some of those files that are doing nothing but taking up space. And as you are doing that, ponder what’s in your life that’s hindering your redemptive potential. 

Maybe it’s some things God pointed out in your prayer time yesterday. As you’re deleting the clutter from your phone, start making a plan to delete some clutter from your life to open up some focus and energy for the Lord. 

Today’s prayer 

God, What am I carrying that You never asked me to carry? What am I holding onto that is weighing me down? What needs to be deleted from my life so I can make more room for You? Help me to stop ignoring the clutter that is limiting my ability to rest in you, to hear your voice, and to serve you like I truly desire to do. Give me wisdom to clean out my life for you.

In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.