As we served in Israel, we had plenty of stuff to cram into the dumpster. We cleaned the grounds of trash. We trimmed plants. We swept, cleaned, and raked. We threw bag after bag into the dumpster. By the third day, we couldn’t close the lids of the large dumpster. “No problem,” school staff said. “We’ll called for pick-up.”

Thirty minutes later…

“What? All you have to do is call, and the trash truck comes? That’s not how it works where we live!”

But that’s how God works. No matter if you are overflowing with trash, or partially full, you can trust God to pick it up…in an instant.

When we returned to the empty dumpster to throw in more bags of trash, we smelled the stench of the remnant of the messiest trash that had been steeping on the bottom for who knows how long. There were bugs crawling all over the goop. Maybe we should have called sooner. If we wait until our trash is too full, it stinks and attracts all kinds of unwanted creatures.

God cleans us up well, over and over, but we have to call Him. We have to trust Him.

Surely You desire integrity in the inner self,
and You teach me wisdom deep within.
Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones You have crushed rejoice.
Turn Your face away from my sins
and blot out all my guilt.

God, create a clean heart for me
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 51:6-10