At some point, we all have to face the closet. The jeans that haven’t fit since 2020. The shirt you’ve kept “just in case.” The shoes that looked great online but gave you blisters on day one. Eventually, you realize: it’s not just clutter. It’s a collection of who you used to be.
Your soul’s no different.
Every season leaves a mark — habits, relationships, beliefs, priorities — that once fit but don’t anymore. And while you’ve probably learned how to clean out your wardrobe, when was the last time you made space in your spiritual life? Because some of what you’re carrying isn’t sacred. It’s just heavy.
This is your invitation to take inventory. What still serves your growth? What’s just taking up space? And what needs to go?
1. Toss out the hustle-for-worth mindset
If your spiritual life is indistinguishable from your productivity tracker, something’s off. We live in a culture that baptizes burnout and calls it purpose. But sociologist Felicia Wu Song reminds us this isn’t just a hustle problem — it’s a formation problem.
“Indeed, what we have discovered in our digitally saturated society is that we have a remarkable endurance and capacity to remain attuned to our devices — it is the first thing we greet in the morning and it is the last thing we take into bed with us at night,” Song writes. “Why? Because we are waiting and searching for joy, for satisfaction, for purpose, for love. We are waiting and therefore abiding in the digital.”
If your faith feels like one more item on your to-do list — post-therapy, pre-laundry — it’s time to put down the self-improvement gospel and rediscover grace. Sabbath isn’t optional self-care; it’s a commandment rooted in trust. You’re not God. You can stop. The world will keep spinning.
2. Declutter the relationships that drain more than they disciple
Not everyone needs to be cut off, but let’s be real: some people aren’t good for your soul. Maybe it’s the ex you keep DMing late at night. Maybe it’s the friend group that casually mocks your convictions. Maybe it’s the person who uses “just being honest” as a license to be cruel.
You don’t need to ghost anyone. But you do need to evaluate what — and who — you’re allowing to shape your spiritual trajectory. Proverbs 13:20 says, “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.” Harsh? Sure. But accurate.
A real spring cleaning requires a relational audit. Who sharpens you? Who stirs your affection for Jesus? Who only texts when they want something? These are not rhetorical questions.
3. Cut the performative spirituality
Instagram devotionals. Highlighted Bibles. Worship lyrics in your bio. None of that is bad — but if your spiritual life lives mostly online, it’s time for a reset.
Jesus had strong words for people who loved public displays of piety but ignored the inner work (see: Matthew 6). If your spiritual life feels more like a brand than a relationship, consider this your nudge to log off and pray in secret. No hashtags needed.
And this isn’t just about you. Song warns that even our most sincere intentions can be subtly shaped by digital habits that reward attention over authenticity.
“We have, without fully realizing it, come to see our identity through the lens of media — through the way others see us, ‘like’ us or affirm us,” she writes. “And in doing so, we unwittingly become consumers of our own lives.”
4. Purge the curated chaos
Busyness is often praised as ambition, but behind it is often fear — of stillness, of boredom, of what might surface when things get quiet. But spiritual growth requires silence. Stillness. Margin.
If your calendar is maxed out, your notifications are always on and your mornings start with panic instead of prayer, it might be time to schedule a reset. Try saying no to something. Cancel a commitment. Sit with the discomfort of doing nothing productive.
That’s where soul cleaning begins.
5. Let go of guilt you’ve mistaken for conviction
There’s a difference between conviction and shame. Conviction calls you higher; shame tells you you’re worthless. One is from the Holy Spirit. The other isn’t.
If you’re walking around with low-grade guilt that never seems to lift, it might not be conviction — it might be a lie. Psalm 103 says God “does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.”
You’re not being holier by hanging on to shame. You’re just carrying something Jesus already died for. So let it go. Say it out loud if you need to. Confess it, release it and don’t pick it back up.
6. Interrupt the toxic narratives on loop
What stories are you telling yourself about God? About yourself? About your worth?
Maybe it’s that God only loves you when you’re “doing enough.” Maybe it’s that your past disqualifies you. Maybe it’s that you’re too much. Or not enough.
These aren’t just thoughts. They’re spiritual strongholds. And as Romans 12:2 says, transformation begins with the renewing of your mind. That means truth has to replace lies.
Start here: What does God say about you? Find it. Write it down. Read it out loud. Repeat it until you believe it more than the lie.
None of this is easy. Naming your junk takes guts. Letting go takes trust. But the thing about clearing space is this: God fills it. And what he plants grows better than whatever you were clinging to.
