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Jun 24, 2025 06:00am

How Clean Is Your Oven?

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I am a teacher and get the blessing of having my summers off. Throughout the school year, I get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and put off all time-consuming tasks until the summer comes. But the moment the last day of school arrives, all of my excuses that I don’t have the time to clean go flying out through the window. Visions of bleach, brooms, mops, and trash bags start dancing in my head . . . and all of a sudden, I am in full-on nesting mode and have a strong desire to scrub.

The oven was one of those areas that I had neglected for about, ahem—nine years. (Like, since I bought it.) It’s so easy to ignore—just shut the door and poof, it’s gone! However, when I would use it heavily, like on Thanksgiving, it would smoke like it was on fire from all the debris at the bottom (which usually raised many an eyebrow among a certain mother and mother-in-law).

So, this past summer, I decided it was high time to clean it. It was then that I discovered a life-saving function: “Self-Clean.” What?! I get to set it and forget about it? How did I not know this existed? (Now, if all cleaning were that simple, I would have the cleanest house year-round.)

About 20 minutes into the self-cleaning cycle, my house was so full of smoke (from years of encrustations) that my daughter woke up in a panic, wondering why I was sitting on the couch when the house was on fire. I reassured her that everything was fine, that I was “cleaning” (well, sort of), and the smoke came from years of Mommy’s cooking experiments gone bad.

Finally, after four hours of “self-cleaning,” it was now my turn. The oven had been heated to such a high, intense temperature that everything inside had been reduced to ashes. Funny—I had dreaded this process in the past because I feared I would develop some form of tennis elbow from all the scrubbing it would take to clean this Oven of Doom. But after the cycle was over, my part was surprisingly easy. I simply wiped away the ashes.

As I was wiping it down, I was amazed. It looked so good. In fact, in some areas, it looked brand new. After years and years of neglect and buildup, I couldn’t believe how clean it became. Now, don’t get me wrong—there were still a few tainted areas that remained, scars from Mama’s countless attempts to dazzle her family with her culinary skills. But those scars paled in comparison to the overall shine of it all.

It was during this process of wiping it clean that the Holy Spirit gave me eyes to see something deeper.

Throughout life, we all are going to have seasons of heat upon us—times of trials, trouble, and adversity. All of us. Jesus tells us in the book of John, “In this world, you will have trouble” (John 16:33).

And sometimes, traces of troubles will lace our hearts, much like the dregs of my cooking experiments laced the bottom of my oven.

Disappointment. Despair. Shame. Secrets. Brokenness. Defeatedness. Unforgiveness. Self-loathing. Bitterness. Regret.

And yet, it’s so easy to close that oven door and forget about them—to simply survive that trouble and move on with life. But here’s the problem: the next time trouble hits, our ovens start smoking again. When we don’t take time to get clean, the dregs of our battlegrounds accumulate. They mask and spoil the shine and beauty of a clean oven.

Oh friend, may I suggest something: God is our self-cleaning.

I love how Jesus didn’t just warn us in John 16:33 that we would have trouble; He also gave us hope right afterwards: “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world.” If I may paraphrase: “My children, I promise, you will have problems. But, have hope! I have won in the game called Life, and if you cling to Me, I will help you to not only survive it, but also help you thrive in it, living life abundantly!”

When we take those troubles to Him in complete surrender and trust, He begins cleaning up our hearts.

We see our faults in situations we couldn’t before.
We pray for reconciliation instead of revenge.
We apologize in advance instead of waiting for an apology.
We forgive even though the forgiven may not deserve it.
We expose our faults and flaws to His light when we want to keep them hidden in shame.
We admit our shortcomings and weaknesses and cry out for help.
We deny our flesh and choose to walk in the Spirit.

It’s coming to the Lord in humble submission and honesty that we experience a cleansing in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I wonder, friend, when was the last time you cleaned your “oven”? If you examined it, would you see the grime of bitterness? The soot of anger? The crumbs of disappointment? The pieces of brokenness?

The dregs of our troubles can hold us back from living life to the fullest. But when we surrender them to Him—every morning, every afternoon, every night, and every chance we get—something beautiful happens: He removes our stony hearts of sin and replaces them with God-willed hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).

We aren’t meant to live with dirty ovens and smoky kitchens, friends. God stands ready, as He always has, to cleanse our hearts and lives with His very special self-cleaning. Yes, it takes an introspective look at what holds us back in life. Yes, it involves surrender, humility, and trust. And yes, it takes intention and time. But by the time He is done, you will see beauty coming from the ashes.

All it takes is a willing heart.