Carla Gasser - The Beauty of an Uncluttered Soul: Allowing Gods Spirit to Transform You from the Inside Out

a note from carla

When life seems chaotic, extreme, and out of control, people seek order and simplicity to regain a sense of peace and purpose. Scroll through social media, view the bestselling book lists, or watch any improvement television show and you can easily find useful information on how to transform your home, your space, your body, or your life. Cleanse, tidy, detoxify, purge, and simplify . A whole industry consisting of television shows, books, articles, blogs, and podcasts encourages us to win the battle with the stuffphysical, mental, and emotionalthat continually threatens to overtake and consume us.

And it is a good thing, right? Less is more is a mantra many of us can get behind in this quest. If ordering our homes, minds, and bodies can transform our lives, how do we do it?

One day while I was feebly attempting spring cleaning to overcome the disorder and disorganization in my home, I began thinking about how the ideas of cleansing, simplifying, and decluttering can apply on a deeper leveleven a spiritual level. I knew maintaining a neat home or a body free of toxins requires constant daily attention and energy. I was willing to put in time and effort but also desired a more profound sense of peace and purposea kind of contentment that comes from within my soul, independent of a perfectly maintained home or a fit and healthy-looking body. After all, perfect homes and bodies dont stay that way for too long, do they?

So, as I purged my closets, I started praying about the spiritual parallels of cleansing my soul and making it beautiful. If managing my home brought me a sense of contentment and taking care of my body increased my overall well-being, how much more could I gain if I cleared the clutter from and detoxified my soul?

Purge your past.

Shake out worry.

Open your heart.

Cleanse your mind.

Declutter your attitudes.

And an idea for a devotional study blossomed! Why not apply the same language and principles to harmonizing our inner spiritual lives?

Searching the Scriptures for a place to guide and direct this kind of deep cleanse that would result in a beautiful, uncluttered soul, I returned repeatedly to the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:2223:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

These nine attributes are the outward evidence of a transformed inner life. When we allow Gods Spirit to come in and deep clean our souls, he will produce spiritual qualities characterized as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Now thats what I call a beauty treatment!

Writing this devotional has given me the unique opportunity to practice what I preach. Through searching the Scriptures, observing these soul qualities in daily life, using them in practical ways, and leaning into Gods Spirit for strength and grace, I have repeatedly gone through the process of uncluttering my soul, inviting God to develop beauty and grace. And although the process was challenging and convicting, I am here to tell you I found that inner sense of peace, purpose, and contentment that I have been longing for. I believe you will too!

But before you begin, please pray seriously about the commitment to declutter your soul because it is not an easy process. Uncluttering involves releasing, purging, and letting go so that the Spirit can come in and do the deep soul cleansing. But uncovering the beauty underneath is so worth it, dear friend. I am praying for you as you trust God to transform you from the inside out.

Grace & Peace,
Carla