Facing "Stuff"

As I have faced and am still facing this huge process of getting packed up and emptying out a house that over the years became a gathering place for stuff because I would never deal with making the decisions of what to do with things, I know that my only help will really come from the Lord. As I was reading in the Psalms this morning, many of David's words and thoughts were a comfort (as opposed to my journal thoughts below in italic.)

Some of my enemies are the fear of not having "enough" for our needs, so I hung on to things and just let "stuff" accumulate. Maybe, not having much growing up became a foothold for Satan to keep me from being content and letting go of the unnecessary things. (I saw it as not being wasteful, or not having to go buy something later that we already had.) Wanting to have good stewardship has warped into perfectionism that makes me not want to give things away but to "hoard" or at least make some money off of it (which really is selfishness and greed), but my spontaneous nature (that I often let control me) has never led me to be focused on taking care of this last stage of downsizing.

A cut in income has made me uncomfortable (fear and lack of faith) and I wonder how we will manage when we have to get things all over again in a more costly economy. (I know God will provide for our needs but I, humanly, don't like having to start over.) Because my mind is so full of and I am so out of my comfort zone, I have let procrastination take hold and kept putting a lot of those decisions off, until now we are almost out of time (I think that has been laziness.) Oh, I have been very, very, busy in many other ways - not lazy in that sense - you should see how much stuff we did get rid of and give away before, but the last big hill to get over is still to climb, and I am just having a hard time facing it all.

So I do feel that I have a lot of "enemies" out there that God is using in my life to call me closer to Him and I know that I have some uncomfortable things to work on. I know that God will take care of our needs and even bless us beyond that in many ways; I know that God will work "all things out for our good" because we love him and are called to His purpose; I know that fulfillment in life doesn't come from things, but comes from following Christ; and I know that God is my refuge and strength.

Here are some of David's thoughts from the Psalms -

60:11-12 - "Oh, please help us against our enemies, for all human help is useless. With God's help we will do mighty things for he will trample down our foes."

62:5-8 - "Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in him at all time. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge."

30:1-3 - "I will exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health. You brought me up from the grave, O Lord. You kept me from falling into the pit of death."