No Mess Too Big

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool (Isaiah 1:18, NIV). 

I don’t have kids of my own, but with ten nieces and nephews, I’ve learned just how good they can be at making messes. Toys, food, laundry, and everything in between. Messes somehow just magically appear! And they often reappear so soon after being cleaned up.

Have you ever found yourself just trying to manage the mess when you’re short on time or preparing for company to arrive? I’d be willing to bet we’ve all thrown things in a guest bedroom and shut the door, or stuffed things into a closet just to manage the mess when we don’t really have time to clean it up. In the same way that we sometimes “stuff” things in our physical environments, I think we do that with our hearts, too. 

You’ve got a big project due for school, so you push aside the anxiety.

You've got a big presentation at work, so you stuff the grief.

Your kids have a performance at school, so you hide the depression.

You have to meet with a client, so you try to cover up the loneliness.

Life is hard. The anxiety, grief, depression, and loneliness is sometimes impossible to escape. Jesus did promise that in John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

I’m so thankful that my peace comes from Christ, because we live in a world that is full of chaos. We all have messes, but instead of stuffing them, we can bring them to the foot of the cross. No matter what we’ve done, and no matter what has been done to us, there is no mess too big for Jesus.

Isaiah 1:18 says: “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

Imagine if the company you’re preparing for is Jesus Christ himself. Yes, we want to present ourselves in a manner of honoring Him, but we should be willing to open the door, and invite Him inside, even if our messes aren’t cleaned up. That is precisely what He died for–His death on the cross was for the purpose of saving us from our sins, for all time. 

He already knows what’s stuffed in the closet or thrown in the corner of the guest bedroom. This is true of our physical environments, but mostly true of our hearts. Remember today that there is no mess too big, and don’t be afraid to open your heart to Him. He will wash us white as snow.