The Soul Washer

How could a person of 34 years of age be so thrilled and tickled by the process of a fiberglass box swishing and swashing hot water onto items of eatery? Yes, my poor dishwasher has been out of commission for five months. I won’t tarnish anyone’s name but let’s say four months and three weeks were spent waiting on one repair man. Fortunately, I had a second one who was excellent in service, price, and timeliness. Praise the Lord. Isn’t there something beautiful about just having a task done and off the “to do” list?

So, I ran the dishwasher to clean the inside walls but thought I’d throw in a couple dishes and silverware. Okay…it was two spoons, one knife, one fork, two cups, one plate, one bowl but who’s counting? What an exhilarating and very weird feeling when I unloaded those few items. It was like getting a new toy at Christmas [for a kid of course, not me :-)]. It actually has been over a year of not using it since most of last summer I didn’t use the dishwasher as I was not eating or dirtying dishes. When I did start using dishes, it would take about three weeks to get a full load. In the last five months I've mostly eaten from paper plates; otherwise, I have to wash dishes by the piece to keep my sink empty while my house is on the market.

I have enjoyed hearing the clang of the utensil hitting the glass plate or bowl. That’s a beautiful sound. I have really enjoyed knowing I can dirty a dish, hide it in the dishwasher, and know it will be clean in about three weeks. Yes, this all may sound very crazy to those who make large meals daily for several people. Dishes must be a dreaded time of the day for those folks. Trust me, I was never a dish cleanin’ person and was blessed to have a husband who emptied the dishwasher every time.

I won't be making it a habit to run a less than full dishwasher because I'm way too conservative for that. (Waste not, want not.) However, isn’t it great that we can be put through God’s dishwasher whenever we need and as often as we need? God is willing and able to cleanse us at any point and as many times as we need. We don’t get just one washin’ at the time of our salvation. No, for most, it is a daily cleansing.

Oh, how I’m in need of a good cleaning. Negative thoughts. Pain. Regret. Worry. Confusion. Discontentment. Complaints. Envy.

Cleanse me oh Lord with Your pure blood. Change my heart. Change my focus. Change my desires. Change my outlook. Cleanse me. Purify me. Create in me a new heart. Yes, Lord.

One scripture that I wrote on my heart in the last months is Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 NIV says pure heart; whereas, NASB and ESV say clean heart. I love both the words clean and pure but to me, I don't see them as exact synonyms. Maybe I just hate to see my heart as impure but I know it is because though I know I am cleaned and forgiven of my sins, I will never be totally without sin. We will never be fully pure and clean this side of Heaven. Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"? Proverbs 20:9

Wash me.
Cleanse me.
Purify me.
Take from me, Lord, the junk that resides in my heart, mind, and life. Mold me and make me. You, Father, are the Potter and I am the clay...Your clay.

Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Psalm 51:2

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Ezekiel 36:25. I found this scripture in my search for this dishwasher piece. As I read this, I imagined myself, standing in front of my dishwasher, turning the switch, and saying to the dishes in my fiberglass box: "I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean." :-) That reminds me of the shows "I Dream of Jeanie" and "Bewitched". Snap and be done.

Be clean you old dirty dishes says Paula.

Be clean you old dirty Paula says the Lord.

Unfortunately, a lot of our dirtiness is not something that is changed over night. Yes, our Almighty God has the power to snap His fingers and cleanse us from worry, pain, envy, bad attitudes or whatever it may be. However, though His power is great, we are still human and most of the time it requires the Lord teaching us how to live without discontentment, worry, negativeness, lies, regret, shame or envy.

As thankful as I am for my repaired dishwasher, I would trade it and wash my dishes by hand for the rest of my life as long as Jesus keeps on washin’ me. I’d trade my fiberglass box any day and sign up for dishpan hands just for one cleansing of the Lord. That’s how precious and powerful the Lord is. We cannot live on this earth without His presence that gives not only comfort, love, peace and all those warm securities but also the refreshing but painful cleansing. I know for the Lord to cleanse me of the things I find dirty, it incurs pain of purifying and discipline. However, all purifying experiences bring us closer to the character of Christ. How awesome is that. Is there anything better? ...No.

Do you need to be ran though the Soul Washer either on short cycle, full cycle, or rinse only? Is there something in your heart, mind, or life that needs to swished and swashed by the Lord's blood? Tell the Lord you need a good washin' and He'll cleanse you over and over. You will never be fully cleaned and not in need of God's cleansing power. It doesn't end at the salvation experience but rather it ends when we see Jesus face to face in glorious Heaven. Only then will we be made perfect, clean, and pure.

Being Cleansed By the Soul Washer,

(The picture is of my Rose of Sharon tree.)