WHAT LURKS IN YOUR FRIDGE?

Susan Cazillo
August 1, 2023

Read: 1 John 1:1-10

I totally believe that God cares about every aspect of our lives. Every single one. That’s why I hear His voice as I go about my ordinary days. I will never forget the time I heard His voice with half my body stuck inside my old fridge… It was just an ordinary day. I was looking in the fridge, which was quite bare because I needed to do some major shopping. I had the thought that I ought to clean it really well before filling it again. Later that day we went to Lowe’s and I was looking at all the fabulous new appliances, shiny and pristine, definitely nicer than my old dinosaurs.

GRIME AND GUNK I HAD NO IDEA WAS LURKING

My desire to deep clean my fridge intensified. I wipe it down regularly, but I don’t pull everything out and take all the shelves and drawers out every week. I arrived home and started with all the condiments in the door. One by one I took them out and examined them.  Cocktail sauce? We hardly EVER have seafood! How old was that?? Garbage. Mustard that looked as caked inside as the squeeze tip looked on the outside?  Garbage!  A bottle of yeast that was so expensive I think I physically felt pain when I bought it…not empty but expired.  WAY expired.  Garbage. Old leftover veggies from last Sunday that no one ate…yep, garbage. They were no good anymore. This is how it went for a while. It was hard to throw things out because they had been good at one time. That fridge sure looked different when it was stripped bare! I was amazed at what the functioning drawers and shelves hid. Laying everything bare brought a whole new perspective. There was grime and gunk I had no idea had been lurking. I was grossed out.

THE FURTHER DOWN, THE NASTIER IT GOT

I then began the deep cleaning. I grabbed my magic eraser and went to it. The dust and, “oh no!”, the hair that was in there was wiped out easily.  Drips of unknown origin came right off. I was thankful and encouraged that this was going more easily than I thought but the further down I went, the nastier the grime became. I was getting worried that I may become like one of those ladies in the commercials with their arms in a sling from scrubbing so hard! It did take elbow grease and a stronger weapon than a magic eraser, but the solidified grime of who knows what stood no chance! It took focused energy and effort, but the result was worth it.

LET HIM BRING HIS CLEANSING!

God’s still small voice spoke a lesson I will never forget. Life can be just like that refrigerator. We accumulate “stuff” and don’t know how, why or where it joined us on this journey. Perhaps at one point in time it was useful but now it’s old, outdated, spoiled. We get so busy just moving along, filling our days with all we do, that we rarely stop, take stock, and look closer, cleaning out what is hidden under the drawers and shelves of our hearts. Sometimes God sees fit to lay us bare, and shine His light on our lives. In love, He exposes that which has the potential to hurt us or others, and removes everything concealed under the function of living day to day. It takes the power of His blood to make us clean. We can’t do it alone. Rather than be ashamed at the gunk in our lives, we can be thankful for His great care for us and let him bring about His cleansing! His blood is stronger than a magic eraser and more effective than a Brillo pad!

YIELD DAILY TO HIS CLEANSING

My refrigerator was cleaner than it had been in a long time. It didn’t look fancy and new like the ones at Lowe’s, but it still worked well and faithfully kept our food fresh as long as I faithfully examined its contents. That old refrigerator had some wear and scars, but it had not passed its usefulness yet. Thank God, neither have we. Maybe your life also needs some cleaning out by the Holy Spirit? I pray we will yield daily to His cleansing, even in the hidden recesses of our lives.

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