A few years ago I was the unhappy middle man in a collision between an SUV and a Porta-Potty truck. It wasn’t funny at the time, especially because the accident preempted my plans for a Chick Fil A lunch and sent me to the doctor instead. Thankfully the only real victim was my 2005 Toyota Corolla.

When my husband, David, replaced our crumpled car, I was delighted. The same model as our dearly departed, this Corolla was only two years old and in great condition.

Except for one thing. The upholstery was disgusting.

I’m amazed that neither of us noticed the problem. I guess, when we rode in the driver or passenger’s seats, our eyes were either on the road or on the instrument panel. But when I climbed into the back seat to allow David and a friend to ride up front, I saw stuff I hadn’t noticed before.

It looked like someone had shaken up a Coke and popped the tab. Spots were everywhere. Then I saw oily spots on the front headrests, seat backs, and arm rests. And nasty brown stains on the upholstery.

 “Ewwwww!” I said, “the inside of this car is gross.” My husband sprang into action. He grabbed a can of cleaner and the carpet shampooer and went to work. An hour and a half later, the interior of the car looked three shades lighter.

“My hero!” I proclaimed, and hugged him hard. After the seats dried, I checked them over. Much better.

Until the next afternoon, when I spilled a bottle of water in the passenger seat. “No worries,” my husband said. “It’s only water, It’ll dry just fine.”

But it didn’t.

The water had left a giant stain. “How can clean water leave a brown stain?” I asked my husband in dismay.

“There still must be gunk under the upholstery. On the surface, it looks clean, but when water soaks in, what’s hidden inside comes to the top.”

Apparently people and upholstery have a lot in common. 

I’m a classic example. On the surface I look clean. Pastor’s wife, Christian speaker, inspirational writer, Sunday School teacher. But then something happens.

Like the spill on my car’s front seat, what’s under the surface rises to the top, and it isn’t pretty. I display gunk like impatience, selfishness, and unkind words. It stains my heart and my relationships.

The only treatment is to clean deep down, under the surface. 

God’s Word provides a solution:

1. Invite God to search our hearts every day. 

Pray Psalm 139:24-25: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me.” When we allow God to examine our hearts and reveal anything that displeases him, we begin to change.

2. Agree with God instead of making excuses. 

For years I dismissed my sin of impatience by hiding it under the label of productivity. But putting projects before people never honors God. When the Lord convicted my heart of this sin, I owned up and asked him to transform me. Often. The Bible calls this repentance, which simply means agreeing with God about our sin (Isaiah 30:15).

3. Recognize Satan’s tricks. 

Once the Lord brings a sin to light, it’s important we don’t allow Satan to beat us over the head with it. We’re often tempted to give in to guilt and condemnation, but neither come from God. They’re tricks from Satan, who lies to us to keep us defeated. If he can paralyze us with guilt or render us powerless with condemnation, we’ll wallow in our sin instead of conquering it.

4. Make a biblical plan. 

God’s Word tells us to confess (agree with God about our sin), repent (express our desire to change), and forsake (turn our backs on our sin) (1 John 1:9). Unfortunately, this isn’t usually one and done. We have to repeat the process every time we slip back into our destructive behavior.

Memorizing specific Bible verses related to our sin will give the Holy Spirit extra cleansing power. Eventually we’ll grow so sick of our sin that we’ll hate it. This allows us to turn away and replace our negative behavior with positive choices.

5. Rely on God’s power, not our own. 

Within ourselves, we’re powerless to change. But if we’ve trusted Christ as our Savior, we have the power of Christ living inside us—the same power that raised Christ from the dead (Romans 8:11). This is some serious muscle. Moment by moment, day by day, we can rest in his strength to do what’s right.

Father, within myself I’m powerless to conquer this sin. Help me claim the power that raised Christ Jesus and say no to ungodliness. Enable me to recognize potential to sin before it traps me. Empower me to close my mouth, avert my eyes, or walk away. Help me replace my sinful choices with wholesome ones so I can bring glory to your name. When I fall back into my old ways, help me confess, repent, and forsake. No matter how many times it takes. In the mighty name of Jesus I ask, Amen. 

When our attempts to clean (really clean) our car’s upholstery failed, we called on an expert. He gave us a solution that penetrated the layers of gunk hiding in our seats. We saturated the seats, gave it time to work, and scrubbed away the dirt it brought to the surface. I haven’t spilled any water yet, but I’m confident if I do, nothing yucky will appear.

Unfortunately, battling sin is a little harder than battling dirty upholstery. With God empowering us, however, we can be victorious. When we submit to the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit, use the sanitizer of God’s Word, and apply the muscle of Christ living inside us, we can be as clean on the inside as we are on the outside. 

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