Psalm 51:10-11
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take You Holy Spirit from me."
Staring into his own heart, no longer running from the guilt of sexual sin and murder, David cries out in anguish to the Lord. "Create in me a clean heart, O God!" David understands that on his own, his heart condemns him as a sinner.
Like David, every believer faces the filth of sin throughout life. Every time we choose disobedience to our Lord, we become dirty. Every time we push God aside and chase after the lusts of our flesh, we are stained. Every time our emotions cause us to sin with our words, our fists, or our eyes, we are washed in the ugliness of immorality. Worse yet, we know we are failures, even feeling it in a very real and literal way, just as David did.
In sin, believers need to be cleansed, washed, and made pure again. David understood that spiritual cleaning comes with the touch of the Spirit. Without the Spirit, he was hopelessly lost, even as a man of God. Without the Spirit, we remain overwhelmed by the stench of our sins.
Of course, as God's seal of grace upon us, the Spirit never leaves the heart of a believer. Still, in some way the Spirit becomes anemic in the face of unconfessed sin. We no longer feel the presence of God in us. We feel alone, since God is hiding his face. We begin to understand and see the hurt that our actions cause to the heart of the Father.
Like David, we need to free the Spirit to cleanse us by crying out in repentance and forsaking our sins. Only then, will the Spirit work to create in us a steadfast Spirit, held in the arms of the Lord.
LORD JESUS
Help me to see the effects of sin on our relationship. Give me a heart to forsake them and embrace instead your continuous presence. Amen.
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