Spiritual Gutters

I’ve been enthralled with icicles since I was a kid. They are so sparkly in the sun, and they give a certain charm to buildings. To me they kind of look like gingerbread house decorations. The massive ones look so amazingly heavy and strong.

As a kid, I used to love to try and get them off our house. I found the crack of them falling on the ground very satisfying. So much so, that I once threw a part of a brick at some on the back of our house, and broke the neighbor’s window instead. And then promptly ran inside and tattled on myself. Remember that, dad? (Sorry Larry!!)

Anyway, the other day Sia and I were talking about icicles, as she was recounting some she and Tina had seen while out driving. Apparently a few houses near us have them covering over entire windows!

I got to thinking about icicles and how interesting they are, and started wondering why they are formed in the first place. Did you know that icicles are an outward sign of issues inside your house? Yep, it’s true. There are several things that can cause icicles to form, but for my purposes today we’re just gonna focus on gutters.

Clogged gutters and downspouts can cause icicles to form. When we haven’t cleaned up debris from spring, summer, and fall that sits in and clogs the gutters, that stuff keeps water from flowing. In cold temperatures it freezes, and causes icicles to form when the water from melted snow or rain runs over the edge, instead of draining properly through the downspout. Did you know that a single gallon of water weighs 8.33 pounds? Homes with backed up gutters are holding thousands of pounds of water, in the form of ice, on their roofline and gutters.

All kinds of issues can be caused by these icicles. If the water thaws and refreezes, it can work its way under your shingles, letting water into your house. This can damage wood inside, and ruin walls and windows. The weight of it all can also tear the gutters right off your house! Not to mention ruin your roof…And icicles themselves are dangerous. If they detach from the house before melting, they can break windows, hurt animals and damage your property, or even kill people. Or if you’re Ralphie, it’ll knock your eye out for sure.

So, what does that have to do with me?

Well, maybe I’ve neglected to clean out my spiritual gutters. Perhaps I’ve allowed things from my past, or my sin, to pile up and clog me up so Living Water can’t flow through. And now I have all that extra weight freezing and putting pressure on me, weighing me down, and stressing me, and certainly affecting me in ways I might not see at first. I may look around and see other people with icicles worse than mine; and while it makes me feel better that I’m not alone, it doesn’t do anything to get rid of them. In fact, I shouldn’t feel relief when I see the icicles of others. I should be moved with compassion, because I know what those icicles are doing.

Have you ever felt like when you read the Word, it just isn’t penetrating your heart? Or you sit down to read, but are easily distracted by other things? Or you feel like you ‘know this part’ already, so you skim it? Or you listen to the preacher, but think of ten other people the sermon applies to instead of yourself? Or you say you want to spend more time in prayer, but never actually change anything to make it happen?

You my friend, have backed up gutters.

When we consistently clean out our spiritual gutters, we keep a channel open for the Living Water to flow. It helps reveal to us little debris we missed, and cleanses us better than we can do for ourselves. When we leave our spiritual gutters filled with the past, filled with unconfessed sin, filled with regrets, or pride, or any other junk, it will be horribly clogged, and just keep building up. Eventually it becomes obvious to other people. It causes damage. It can hurt others. And it hurts us too.

The best way to keep spiritual icicles from forming is to consistently clean out our gutters. Ask the Lord what you may be holding onto that’s weighing you down. Confess your sin regularly and sincerely. Examine yourself to see if you’ve been walking in pride. Make amends with those you may have hurt. And get in the Word regularly so the Word can get in you.

It’s not easy! You will probably have to pull out a ladder, and wear gloves, and put in some real effort to pull out all the gunk, but it will be worth it! When the Living Water flows freely through us, our burdens seem much lighter. We can focus on His promises instead of on our past.

So my friend, how clean are your gutters?

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Psalm 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.