HOW TO EMBRACE THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT TO UNCLUTTER YOUR SOUL

Do you struggle with soul clutter? The stuff that keeps you stuck in a cycle of worry, shame, and discouragement? Would you like to replace it with soul qualities like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Let me teach you how to embrace the Fruit of the Spirit to unclutter your soul and find freedom and purpose.

MY PERSONAL JOURNEY TO UNCLUTTERING MY SOUL

Picture me crouched in my cramped and disorderly closet wedged between half-opened shoe boxes, strewn clothes, and crumpled bags. Wincing as a sharp wire hanger (don’t worry, I have already replaced all of them with the pretty velvet ones!) dug deep into my flesh, the tears freely flowed.

Although the pain was real, the wet, hot, angry tears came from a deeper place. Frustrated and unable to extract myself from the mess, I surrendered to the chaos.

My failed attempt to “spring clean” my closet of clothes, shoes, bags, and jewelry only reinforced the fact that my life was spinning out of control.

It wasn’t just my closet.

It was the pantry in the kitchen. The kids’ cubbies in the garage. The laundry room.

My calendar was overbooked. My email inbox overflowing. And I struggled with an over-commitment problem.

Chaotic.

Complicated.

Confused.

This was the clutter of my life…and it was also crowding my soul.

God had me right where He wanted me as I humbly acknowledged that something had to change before I shattered.

What was I looking for? And why did I think I could find inner peace through organizing my external world?

I bought into all of it until that day I crumpled in my closet.

Keeping up this facade was exhausting. Because even if:

• I diligently used my label maker to organize all my files.
• Bought cute shoe boxes and fun hooks to maintain my closet.
• Invested in personalized color-coded matching bins for each member of my family.
• “Marie Kondo’d” every single room in my house, only keeping those essential items that “spark joy”…

I still could not find that inner sense of peace and contentment.

WHAT IS SOUL CLUTTER?

While I was busy purging, cleansing, and decluttering my external world (frantically grasping for the illusion of control), I completely overlooked the clutter within my heart, soul, and mind. How long had it been since I took inventory of my:

• negative thoughts?
• bad attitudes?
• selfish motives?
• controlling tendencies?
• unforgiving judgments?
• debilitating insecurities
• worthless worries?

If I am honest, I would have to admit: not so much. Ouch!

And what does that say about me?

Sadly, I am often more concerned with whether things look orderly, well-kept, and picture-perfect on the outside.

Clutter, as defined by the dictionary, refers to mess, disorder, jumble, or litter. It is a state of confusion. We all know what external clutter looks like. But the Bible deals with the clutter within our souls.

One other way we clutter our souls is by imposing expectations on ourselves that God never lays on us. Even strong Christians can fall into the trap of adding rules, rituals, and regulations to ensure we are living up to God’s standards and not disappointing Him.

• Wake up early to pray
• Go to church every Sunday.
• Volunteer every time you are asked.
• Don’t get angry.
• Memorize Bible verses.
• Visit the sick.
• Deliver meals.
• Always smile and be kind.

The clutter of our mistakes, regrets, and failures is so heavy and thick that we feel we cannot breathe, much less rest.

If you feel the weight of this kind of soul clutter, keep reading because I have some bad news and good news.

WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO UNCLUTTER OUR SOULS?

Think about external clutter and how hard it is to maintain order and simplicity just within our homes. Even if I diligently use my label maker to organize all my files, buy color-coded matching bins for each member of my family, and Marie-Kondo every single room in my house only keeping those essential items that “spark joy,” this clutter-free living only lasts so long–inevitably, the clutter reaccumulates. And staying on top of it is nearly impossible.

Why?

There is a basic law of the universe called ENTROPY.

Entropy is like the cosmic tidy-upper, always making things messier. Imagine you have a neat stack of perfectly folded laundry (I know you are with me on this, moms!). Entropy says, “Let’s shake things up!” and suddenly, one of your kids, looking for a pair of socks, completely overturns the entire basket, flinging clothes, socks, and underwear everywhere.

In simple terms, entropy is the measure of disorder or randomness in a system. It tends to increase over time, which means things naturally move from order to disorder. So, while you might dutifully wash, dry, fold, and even attempt to put away all the laundry, entropy ensures it’ll eventually get messy again without your intervention. Fun times.

ENTROPY ensures that things always move from a state of ORDER –> DISORDER

So, what does entropy have to do with decluttering our souls? If we cannot maintain order and tranquility in our small little corners of the universe, what hope do we have of taming the chaos and clutter within?

While we may acknowledge the need and sincerely have the desire to declutter our souls, we lack the focus, determination, and willpower to begin this painstaking process.

I know I did when I began considering what it would take to do a deep dive cleanse of my soul!

I have some good news and bad news about the decluttering process. Since I am not sure if you are a good news/bad news type of person, I will start with the bad news because I like to be straightforward and honest.

BAD NEWS: You have no hope of decluttering your soul. Yep, that is the truth, my friend. No sugarcoating going on here!

GOOD NEWS: God has every intention of decluttering your soul and desires to do so if you allow His Spirit to come in and transform you from the inside out.

We can cry out to God just like David did in the Psalms:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
    and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Psalm 51:10-12 (ESV)

Even if we don’t know where to start uncluttering or even what needs to be removed, God does. If we come humbly, asking Him to declutter our souls and cleanse our hearts, His Word promises that is exactly what He will do!

HOW DO WE INVITE GOD’S SPIRIT INTO THE DECLUTTERING PROCESS?

No organizing or decluttering expert can accomplish anything in our lives unless we open the door and invite them to “have at it.” In some ways, the same is true with the decluttering process of our souls. We need to begin by extending an invitation to the Holy Spirit to come and look in the junk drawers, overcrowded closets, and forgotten attics of our hearts, minds, and souls.

These passages in the Psalms can be used as prayers to cry out to God and invite Him to help us unclutter our souls.

When we pray, as David did, “take not your Holy Spirit from me,” we are acknowledging and inviting God’s Spirit into this process.

But who is the Holy Spirit and what is His role?

When we speak of the Holy Spirit, we are talking about God.

Sometimes called the “Spirit of God, “God’s Spirit, or even what some consider the spooky-sounding term, “Holy Ghost,” the third person of the Trinity can seem so confusing and mysterious that we do not talk about Him much.

Ironically, the Holy Spirit is the most relevant person in our daily Christian life and the only one who can clear our soul clutter and transform us from the inside out.

We receive the Holy Spirit when we believe in Christ.

The Bible is very clear that we receive the Holy Spirit instantaneously the moment we believe in Christ. We do not have to wait for, pray for, or wonder if we have the Spirit living within us. If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, his Spirit comes to dwell in our souls. The Holy Spirit is a gift to all who believe.

And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (ESV)

The Holy Spirit plays an active role in the life of the believer.

Although the Holy Spirit is invisible, that does not mean he is inaccessible or incomprehensible. God voluntarily gives his Spirit to all who believe in his Son, Jesus.

 The Bible tells us that the Spirit is there to guide, teach, empower, and keep us. He also has the specific and unique role of speaking to God on our behalf.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Romans 8:26 (ESV)

It is the Holy Spirit who does the work of transforming our souls.

In addition to being our advocate, God’s Spirit performs the necessary and often painful process of transforming our souls. Remember, the wind can take the form of a gentle breeze as well as a raging tornado! Before Paul goes into discussing the fruit of the Spirit, he talks about what it means to live by the power of the Spirit.

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

Galatians 5:16-18 (NLT)

So, instead of trying to discount, minimize, or ignore the working of the Spirit in our lives, we need to embrace Him as the guide, comforter, and advocate who will help us discover the beauty of an uncluttered soul.

WHAT IS THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT & HOW DOES IT HELP UNCUTTER OUR SOULS?

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

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

Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)

These nine attributes are the outward evidence of a transformed inner life.

But how do we get there?

Returning to our definition of decluttering, this cleansing process begins by removing unwanted and unnecessary items to make room for essential and healthy things.

When we invite the Holy Spirit to transform us from the inside out by first allowing Him to remove the clutter, He will produce/restore these qualities (fruit) that we desperately long for and need.

If God’s Spirit gives us the power to transform our souls, the Fruit of the Spirit is the outward evidence of this transformation.

We cannot produce this fruit on our own. It is the work of the Spirit.

Paul uses the tangible, physical imagery of fruit to highlight the Spirit’s role in producing something that we cannot achieve on our own. If you have experience gardening, you know that although you can plant the seeds, tend the soil, and water and fertilize daily, you are incapable of magically making fruit appear. You can provide the best conditions to nurture a bountiful and healthy crop, but you cannot create fruit by following a list of steps or a recipe of ingredients.

It is a singular fruit with eight attributes/characteristics.

This singular “fruit” is described as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (ESV). Wait a second, you may be thinking, why is the singular “fruit” used if there is a list of nine qualities? Great question!

The Greek word karpos, translated as “fruit,” refers to the natural product of a living thing. The Greek word is singular, showing that “fruit” is a unified whole, not independent characteristics. So what is the Fruit of the Spirit if it is not all nine attributes listed? Although the answer is easy to overlook (I have been guilty of doing this for years!), Paul gives it to us in the first eight words of Galatians 5:22 (ESV):

But the fruit of the Spirit is love . . .

To return to the helpful analogy of fruit, picture an orange. It is a singular fruit with several sections. Although this example is an imperfect representation, first think of love as the singular fruit—the whole orange. Next, try to envision joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control as the sections of the fruit that demonstrate love in various degrees and aspects.

It is not a checklist or a scale to compare ourselves to others.

I get it. I am a list person, too, so I want to race ahead, read all the qualities, and write them out on a piece of paper with little boxes that I can check off when I have achieved each goal. Unfortunately, it does not work that way. Developing these soul attributes is not about what we do but rather about who we are becoming with the help of the transforming power of the Spirit.

Paul’s warning is clear and direct in Galatians 5:21b (MSG)

“If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom.”

Paul offers hope and healing in the following verse beginning with the crucial and pivotal word “BUT” in Galatians 5:22-23:

“But what happens when we live God’s way” (The Message)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is… (ESV)

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives…” (NLT)

Embrace the transformative power of the Holy Spirit to purge your soul of pride, discontentment, and fear. Open your heart to His guidance and experience the profound virtues of love, joy, and peace as outlined in God’s Word. Let His presence cultivate patience, kindness, and faithfulness within you, leading you to embody the gentleness and self-control of Jesus. Embracing the Fruit of the Spirit will help discover the richness of God’s grace, enabling you to overcome your flesh and walk in the Spirit on your faith journey.

LET ME HELP YOU STUDY THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

Since publishing the first edition of my devotional study, The Beauty of an Uncluttered Soul, I have had the opportunity to speak and teach this material in many different capacities. After hearing from my listeners, readers, and followers, I decided to revise and expand this into an in-depth Bible study on the Fruit of the Spirit.

This new and improved version immerses you in the decluttering process by offering a deeper dive into the Scriptures, more opportunities to apply biblical principles, and
greater space to process your journey through journaling. It also includes optional activities for you to discover and embrace beauty!

It includes a 10-week Bible study guide along with expanded content from the first book, so you get the book and study guide together! If you decide to do this with friends, a Bible study group, or at your church, please reach out and let me know. I will show up in person (if you are within an hour of me) or via Zoom so that I can encourage you on your journey!

Check out the book here!