SoulFit: What If Rest For Your Soul Requires Surrender

We talk about emotional clutter and why hidden burdens can make life feel heavy even when everything looks “fine” on the outside. We break down how to process what hurts instead of carrying it, using Scripture and simple practices that lead to real rest for your soul. 
• emotional clutter as unprocessed feelings, thoughts, stress, and unhealed moments 
• the difference between processing and carrying, with the delivery truck and big box examples 
• how buried emotions resurface as irritability, anxiety, overthinking, numbness, and exhaustion 
• why we avoid processing: busyness, fear of feeling it again, not knowing how, being taught to “move on” 
• Psalm 62:8 and the practice of pouring out your heart to God 
• Matthew 11:28-30 and the promise of rest for the weary and burdened 
• a clear path to decluttering: name it, process it, release it, create quiet space 
• praying out loud and journaling as tools to make emotions concrete and manageable 
So the challenge is can you start clearing the clutter this week by by naming it, naming it, then processing it, whatever way that is, then releasing it to God, and then and then create that space for Him to communicate with you. 

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Transcript

Welcome And Weekly Purpose

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to SoulFit. Thanks for taking time to join us today. If this is your first time, welcome. Each week we just join our live call as I share a few verses and how do we apply, make the Bible applicable to our everyday life. So let's join our live call. So who loves clutter besides me? I don't love it, but it just happens. I don't mean for it to, it just happens. And I think that's kind of what happens sometimes. It just happens unless you're very intentional about uncluttering. And so when we talk about clutter, what does clutter look like? If you've ever just walked into a space that is really cluttery, have you ever watched uh what's that called? Hoarders. Hoarders. I think there's a show called Hoarders. If if you were to walk into that, what kind of feeling would you probably get? Probably one of your heart rate might start to overwhelm, your heart rate would increase. You're like, okay, like I don't want to touch that because that's probably gross or dirty, or all these things would happen. And that's

What Emotional Clutter Looks Like

SPEAKER_00 1:12

kind of what happens when we have emotional clutter. And we're gonna talk a little bit about emotional clutter. What does I mean, we we think of, we know what clutter is. We can see, like, if you look at my desk right now, it's clutter. Um, you see crap everywhere. But what does an emotional clutter look like? How does that look? And I don't think we think about emotional clutter that often. Sometimes it looks like feelings that we haven't processed. Um, sometimes it looks like thoughts that we haven't processed. Sometimes it looks like some moments in our life that are unhealed. Um, again, it's easy to see a scratch or a cut and you put a band-aid on it. Super easy. You open the band-aid, you go, okay, it's getting better, I'll let it. But sometimes we don't have those things that we heal that we've gone through. Sometimes it's lingering stress. Sometimes it is carried burdens that we have. Those things look like emotional clutter. And when we think about a lot of times is what happens with emotional clutters, we don't process, we carry it. So, what's

Processing Versus Carrying Pain

SPEAKER_00 2:25

the difference between processing and carrying? If you think about if you order something and you check on the process, where is it at in the process? In other words, it was ordered, it was then picked, it was then boxed, it was then shipped on, and now it's left the warehouse, and now it has it's on the truck, now it's in you know the delivery point at the next place, and now it is now in the truck coming to your house, now it's been left in your mailbox. It's the process where the carrying is that truck was carrying your package, that's what it did was carrying it. And what if all that stuff happened in that truck? Even the semi, would that be big enough to process everybody's orders? No, and just like we don't have enough capability to carry everything, and so that's what happens with clutter. And you know, what does it do to our inside? And just like Kim said, it it starts creating overwhelm, it stay starts creating some stress, it starts creating some of those things. And if we go, well, what exactly is emotional clutter, then how does it build up? How does it accumulate? Because really, isn't it just it, you know, clutter is just I'm gonna set this here, I'm gonna set that there. I got I got a little space, I can set it right there. I got another little space, I'll set it right there. And so it's again, it's easy to see when we have things. When we have a, you know, if you go into a hoarder's house, you see a pile of things everywhere. It's just clutter. But emotional clutter is accumulation of conversations you never processed. Think about those conversations you're going over and over in your head. You really, I think sometimes we feel like we're processing it, but really we're carrying it. Sometimes it's the stress you push through. I did good. I got through that stress. But did you just like a bull in a china cabinet? What did what did you leave in the wake after you got through the China cabinet, like a bull? They leave all kinds of shattered pieces. It's a mess. Maybe it's some hurt that you ignored. Maybe it's pressure that you carry quietly, maybe it's feelings you don't have time for. And how does that look? It looks like sometimes, like, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm good. Sometimes it looks like it's not a big deal. Or it looks like I'll deal with it later. Kind of like feeling sometimes. Well, I don't really have time to engage with that. I'm gonna mess with it later. But what happens a lot of times? Does later ever come? You ever go back to that thing that hurts you and go, I'll deal with that later, and go, oh, let me go back to this thing that really hurt me. That sounds like a fun time today. Typically, it's no. Once we get past it, we go, I'm gonna leave it right where it's at. And like we've talked about a lot of times with different things that we carry, you can push all those things down, but they don't disappear because we're still carrying them, because we haven't processed them. When you get a when you get a big box from Amazon, has all your Amazon order in it. If you don't have a lot of space in your little roly trash can outside, what do you do with that box? You might break it down. So when you break it down, what do you do? You break it down one, you can make it flat, or two, you cut off all the flaps, all the things, and you can put it into the trash can in pieces. And doesn't it fit better in that trash can broken down than it does as one big box? If you put that one big box in there, you might not have room for anything else. And so what happens if you don't break it down, you put it in there, and then you're putting other trash on top of it and stuffing it down, trying to stuff it down, and eventually it's gonna overflow and it's gonna come out. Or the trash can's gonna be so heavy you can't move it. So they they show up when we when we push those feelings down, they show up in other ways, they just don't disappear.

How Unprocessed Stress Shows Up

SPEAKER_00 7:06

And so then how do they show up? You know, it shows up sometimes as being irritable, sometimes it shows up as overthinking, sometimes it's anxiety, sometimes it's emotional exhaustion when we're just just worn out from it, just exhausted from all the emotions. Sometimes it's just snapping at people, sometimes it's like you don't feel anything anymore, and that is you go, I just don't feel any that's not a good place either. It's feeling overwhelmed. Have you ever felt overwhelmed for no reason? And thought, what's going on? And and if you think about the things that have gone on in life, in your life, then some it may be those things that haven't been processed that that we're still carrying. And so often it a lot of times we've talked about before, it's not that moment, it's kind of like this it's the straw that broke the camel's back. It's not that piece of straw that did it, it was the things that built up to that. And so why do we avoid processing it? Why is it just easier to carry it? Because isn't it easier to take that big old box out to the dumpster, even though you don't have room for it, than spending time to go find a knife, cut down the box, whether you're just making it flat, you're cutting off all the sides, it's gonna require more time. So, why do we avoid the emotional processing? Because, one, we all hear it, we're busy, we don't want to feel it. It was bad enough just to get through it. I don't want to have to go through it again. We think it's not important, that's not a big deal. Sometimes we don't know how, and we don't know how to process through it, and that's when sometimes it's good to get professionals to help us process through those things. And and some of us come from an age, a time when we are taught just to move on. Well we've talked about force, put it under the rug and move on, go on about your day, and and and so when you do that, it doesn't really create strength. When we ignore our emotions, we think I'm being really strong because I I can get past this. But really, instead, it creates some pressure, and those come out in all the different things that that I've mentioned. And so, all of this to say that emotional clutter, we don't think about like we do in our house or our place of business or other people's house where we can actually see it. Emotional clutter, we're really good at hiding, at covering up. And the great thing is that we are not meant to do that. You

Scripture On Pouring Out Your Heart

SPEAKER_00 10:04

know, God cares about our life as a whole, and that means our inner life as well as our outer life. And so in in Psalm 62.8, and it doesn't ever say God doesn't ever tell us to ignore our our feelings, he doesn't say ignore your feelings, but in Psalm 62.8 it says, Trust in him all times, you people, pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. If you pour something out, is there less of it in there? And and the answer is typically yes. If you have a glass of water and you pour some out, now do you have less in there? Yes. And so if if we pour out our hearts and what's your heart, it's those things that are overwhelming, causing anxiety. But again, when we pour those things out, what do we have to do? We have to process them a little bit. Kind of like when an animal is processed at a processing plant. What do they do? They take they take this one animal and process it into all these different parts, all these different pieces, all these different cuts, all of these things, it's processed out into smaller parts that can be managed, that can then be fed and all kinds of things. And and and so we have to work on processing that. And it says, All you who are weary and burdened, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. And isn't always what we're looking for is rest. Sometimes we're we're looking for physical rest. Sometimes we're looking for, as it says in here, and you will find rest for your soul. And I think sometimes it's easier to rest our body because we can take a nap, we can go to bed, we can wake up, go, man, I feel great. I physically feel great. But resting our soul, it takes some work, it is can be challenging. And and so when we when we pour our hearts out to God, he's inviting us to be honest, he's inviting us to release, and he's inviting us to do something that we get really uncomfortable with, and it's called surrender. Because what do we usually see? What we usually think of when we see a white flag, we think they lost. They lost. Now they are under somebody else's power. And it's not that when we surrender, we have to change that. It's not that we are losing, but we are giving it all to a higher power that has more control than we do. So he invites us to do those things and not not suppress it.

Name It Process It Release It

SPEAKER_00 13:45

So, you know, how do we how do we clear that emotional? We know how to how to clear off our countertops, our kitchen cabinets, all of those things are our shops. We know how to declutter those. But because easy, you pick up one thing, you you hide in another drawer, and then you hide. Well, if you're not hiding, you're throwing it away, you're getting rid of it. That is really decluttering. You're not just moving clutter. So, how do we clear emotional clutter? Not move it around from place to place, but how do we clear it? And part of it, we have to do some things to be able to pour our hearts out to God. We have to kind of take responsibility to do those things. First, we have to name it. In other words, what is it? Because isn't it really easy to say, Lord, take away my stress today? But maybe the better questions we should be asking is ourselves before we said is I'm hurting. Why am I hurting? Maybe it's you say, I am hurting, Lord, I am overwhelmed, I feel unseen. Now, all of those things together would cause stress. Those are very stressful things, but how do we break it down and say, Lord, help me with this, not this umbrella of things, but what is the specific thing that I'm feeling that I need to pour my heart out about? And then as as we think about that and we process it, how do we process it? Some process it just like an animal that's processed, it's broken down into parts. But everybody has a job, but you have to. So, how do we process our emotional declutter? We maybe you journal it, maybe you talk it out, and maybe that talking out, maybe prayer includes that written prayer. Some maybe it's the talking out loud when you pray, because it does create a different tone when you do it out loud. Um, if you haven't ever prayed out loud, even by yourself, I would challenge you to do that because it is a different experience. You feel definitely more vulnerable because it's easy in your head because you're not hearing your voice. But if you do it audibly and out loud, even though nobody's around, it's a way different feeling. And it's a way different way of communicating. So I'd encourage you, that's a great way to process because not only are you processing as you share it with with God, but you're also hearing it come out of your head. And you go, and sometimes when we hear things out loud, we go, huh, I didn't realize that. That's interesting. And so that's a form of processing it. Then as we as we we've named it, what is it? What is this thing that's caused me stress? What are these things that cause me anxiety? We say, Lord, help me with my anxiety, but maybe it's a specific family issue, maybe it's a specific work issue that is caused. Lord, help me in this in this thing. Be very specific about what it is because God will work in the umbrella, but also work in the very specific things. And then when we we've named it, we've processed it, whether it's through the prayer, through writing it out, through talking it out, and then we release it. And you release when you see doves released, what happens? They go out, they usually don't come back, they're gone. So not everything is ours to carry forever. And in 1 Peter 5, 7 through 8, it says, Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and so and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. And that's really what that when we have those anxieties, those worries, those stresses, that's really from the devil. God wants us to release it to him and give it to him. And then we create the space. And we've talked a lot about space this week, the safe space. You create a space, a space that is of silence, of stillness, and time with God. Because how do you best receive communication? And it's when those times when we're quiet and we're listening, and it's that stillness, so we're not, there's not a lot going on. And sometimes maybe in that, because clutter can't clear when there's constant noise. When there's constant noise all the time, it's really hard to, when family's going in and out in the house, it's real hard to get rid of that clutter. But when we're quiet and in the stillness, and we're giving it to God, we're we're naming it to Him, and we're praying it out out loud, and we clear our emotional clutter. Just like your house. Kim and I were talking about it yesterday that one time we had a birthday party for the girls, and we used to, believe it or not, our house was a mess when the kids were little. And she had to call her mom down to come help clean for one of the girls' birthday party. And it took all day long. And now Kim says, you know, I'm gonna clean the house. I'm like, what's it? I don't know. I don't see anything, but you could definitely see all the stuff when our kids were little and her mom, and they worked all day long on cleaning the house, decluttering, taking all the stuff off the counters and kitchen table, and just it took a while. And the same is true with our emotional clutter. It's gonna take a while. It's gonna take processing through the different things and putting them and working through them. Not to keep carrying them, but to work through them so that they're gone. They're no more, they're not in the backpack anymore because our load gets heavy when we try to carry them from all the years. And

Weekly Challenge And Closing Prayer

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so the challenge is can you start clearing the clutter this week by by naming it, naming it, then processing it, whatever way that is, then releasing it to God, and then and then create that space for Him to communicate with you. So that's the challenge this week. So a little bit over, but I thought it was really good. And I think we all have some clutter that we could get rid of, um, no matter how decluttered we think we are. Um, I think we all have some emotional clutter that we can get rid of this week. So I'll just uh finish this up in prayer and then we can get on with our fantastic Friday. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for being with each one of us. And I just pray um as we go out from here that we know that that you are ready to take on all of our burdens, all of our worries, all of our clutter that we are holding in that was never meant for us to hold on, Lord. We I just pray that that each one of us release that clutter to you and and ease ease our burden, lighten our load, Lord, that we can get rid of that. And so we walk a little bit lighter, a little bit happier, and a little bit more joyful. And I just pray for each one as we go out over the weekend, just be with them, keep them safe, and just give us the strength and power to be good examples and and a guiding light. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Thank you to each one of you. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Just remember, and thank you to each of you for joining us on SoulFit. Look forward to seeing you right here next time on SoulFit.