“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30

When I returned from my trip from driving across America, I spent time cleaning out my closets and organizing my home. I needed to decrease the clutter and chaos so order and calm could find it’s way into my life. That’s what we need to do if we want to live a better life. It’s what we must do if we want to live our fullest expression of ourselves and our divine purpose. We must decrease the clutter in our hearts, minds and souls in order to allow the love, guidance, direction, calm, peace and order God wants to put into our lives. We aren’t able to be full of God, and reliant on God, when we are full of our egos: our own ideas, agendas, beliefs, thoughts, etc. We must clean them out to make room for God.

There is no one-size-fits-all way to accomplish decreasing our ego, and increasing God. Everyone finds their own way. Here are some suggestions that may be helpful to you. I list them here, not in any particular order.

Surrender. You can’t make room for God until you relinquish your life to Him. Let Go. Turn it over to Him. If you have trouble doing that, ask God for help. He will gladly give you a helping hand. (Romans 12:1)

Forgive. You won’t have room in your heart for God if it’s full of anger, resentments and hate. Forgive others. Forgive yourself. (Ephesians 4:32) Remember to ask God for His forgiveness of your sins.

Accept. You must accept people, places and things as being in God’s control, so you don’t have to be. Accept life on life’s terms. (Psalm 115:3)

Praise and give thanks. Glorify God in your heart! Be joyful and thankful for the gifts He gives you. This simple act fills us with love and gratitude. (Psalm 150:6)

Practice obedience. We don’t make room in our hearts for God if we are operating from our egos. We must practice doing what God asks us to do. That can be scary for some people, as God may ask us to go to places we’d prefer not to go. However, God will always take us to places that polish us and make us the best we can be. Trust His wisdom. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Have faith. Faith can cast out a lot of doubt that can keep God from being in our lives. Strengthen your faith, especially in the hard times, when it may be tested. (Matthew 17:20)

This is not an exhaustive list, but it is a good start to helping you make room for a good life with God. What things would you add to this list in order to clear out your clutter and chaos to make room for God’s grace, love and peace?

F.R.O.G. Practice: Make a list of the things in your heart that you know create chaos that keeps God from fully filling your life up with His gifts and blessings. Ask God to help you do some personal “spring cleaning” to make room for Him. Remember, increase Him, decrease you!