If you've ever stayed in a hotel or motel, you've experienced the amazing work of the Room Fairy. You know, that wonderful creature who miraculously puts your room back together while you're out. Of course, they don't always clean your room. The other day the Room Fairy never came - and it was my fault. Because I was sleeping in and also doing a lot of intense preparation, I hung the "Do Not Disturb" sign on my door. Later in the day, I noticed a piece of paper that had been slid under my door. Here's what it said. "Housekeeping (that's the Room Fairy's real name) did not clean your room today in honor of the Do Not Disturb sign that was on your door." Well, as the kids would say, "Duh." By the next day, the trash cans were overflowing, the towels were shot, the toilet paper and Kleenex were going or gone - the mess was accumulating. All because of my dumb sign.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You about "The 'Do Not Disturb' Mess."
It's possible you're living in a growing mess right now - not in your room, but in some part of your life. It could be because of the sign on the door.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 32:1. "Blessed is he whose sins are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him." David says it's good to take care of your sins, to let God get in and clean up what doesn't please Him. And how does David know this? Listen.
"When I kept silent (about his sin), my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night, Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer." David describes the misery he experienced when he let his sin-mess go - when he hung out a "God, do not disturb" sign on the sinful part of his life. And there was no peace, no relief until he finally let God come in and clean him up. There never is.
"Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.'" He finally let his Lord into the areas he'd been keeping Him out of. The blessed result? "And You forgave the guilt of my sin." Free at last.
Could it be that there's a room in your life where you've been keeping God out? While there may be many rooms where He's welcome, there's this one where you really don't want Him to interfere. You're enjoying this sin, you're angry at someone and don't want to let it go, you're compromising the truth, you're in a relationship that you know you shouldn't be in, you're hooked. Whatever the sin, look around you - at the mess that's accumulating the longer you keep God out. And look inside you, too - at the emotional mess that's piling up in there.
In a sense, this is a message from your Savior, slipped under your door today. It says, "I did not clean your room in honor of the Do Not Disturb sign that is on your door." There have been too many days like that. And soon the mess is going to be out of control - if it isn't already.
Jesus is coming to you right now and saying, "Take the sign off the door. Let Me in. You'll never have peace until You let me clean you up - and clean up the mess sin has made."
Clean - it's one of the most wonderful feelings in the world. And Jesus died for the very sin you may be embracing so you could be clean. He's at the door again today. You've locked Him out long enough. Let Him in.