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This morning, I looked around my room and realized it was time for a deep clean. I (for the most part) keep my room neat, but even then, clutter starts to pile up in the corners. Dust and dirt settle in. My desk slowly fills with random items I bring in and set down. My desk chair collects jackets and flannels I haven’t hung up yet. When I’m busy or tired, I tend to push off dealing with these “pile-ups.” Eventually, I wake up and realize my room is not as neat as I thought. I’ve let a mess build, and I didn’t even realize it. It’s time to deep clean—time to sort through the piles, sweep the floors, and clear out the dust.

Often, our hearts need a “deep clean” as well. We may keep our hearts relatively “neat” by reading the Bible and praying daily, but sin, like the mess in our homes, never stops accumulating. We begin to justify bad habits—or even sin—by saying things like, “Nobody’s perfect,” “I’ll do better next time,” or “Everyone else does this too.” But if we let our spiritual lives run on autopilot for too long, we may find ourselves overwhelmed and trapped by thoughts and habits that pull us away from God, even struggling with sins we never imagined we would face.

Thankfully, we have a God who is patient and gracious. He does not leave us trapped in our sins but offers a path to redemption and freedom.

So, how do we “deep clean” our hearts? Through repentance. But what does repentance look like?

Step 1: Recognize Our Sin

The first step is recognizing our sin. The Holy Spirit brings conviction for our sins, but I’ve found in my own life that I can get pretty good at ignoring conviction and justifying my actions. The more consistently we sin, the more numb we become to the Spirit of God. To us, the mess no longer seems that bad.

In Psalm 139, David praises God for knowing every thought and feeling, even the things we try to hide. He concludes the psalm with this plea:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24, KJV).

David asks God to search his heart and reveal any wickedness, asking instead to be shown how to live a life that pleases God. Even when we are blind to our sins, God is not.

Start by going to God in prayer. Ask Him to expose your sins. Reflect on your life and allow God to highlight areas where you’ve fallen short.

Step 2: Confess Our Sin

Once we recognize our sin, we must confess it. In Psalm 32, David describes the pain of unconfessed sin:

“When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah” (Psalm 32:3-5, KJV).

David portrays the anxiety, shame, and physical toll of conviction. God brings conviction not out of spite but for our good. We cannot truly repent or turn away from sin if we refuse to acknowledge it.

Sin pushes us to hide from God in shame and fear. Just as Adam and Eve hid from God in the garden, we foolishly try to conceal ourselves because of sin. But healing and peace come when we bring our sin into the light and confess it to God.

Confessing our sin is more than admitting we’ve done wrong; it’s also acknowledging that we are guilty before God and cannot make ourselves righteous. In confession, we rely solely on God’s mercy for forgiveness and restoration.

Too often, we recognize our sin and respond by saying, “I’ll never do that again,” or “It wasn’t that bad.” But no excuse or justification can cover our sin. Only the sacrifice of Christ on the cross can pay for it. Through confession, we acknowledge both our guilt and the price Christ paid to redeem us.

Step 3: Respond in Worship

Finally, we rise and respond in worship. In Psalm 51, David says:

“Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise” (Psalm 51:14-15, KJV).

When we are forgiven, our relationship with God is restored, and we are freed to praise Him. God saves us and restores our purpose—to bring Him glory.

We are not put on probation or given tasks to redeem ourselves. We are simply restored. Experiencing God’s saving power renews our joy and compels us to lift His name high.

A Challenge

This week, I challenge all of us to spend time doing a “deep clean” of our hearts. Ask God to expose your sin. Confess your sins and ask for His forgiveness. Then, go forward and make His name known in your life.

Tyler Boggess