Create in me a pure heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
The prophet Nathan confronted David about an affair David had with Bathsheba and in this Psalm David cries out to God for forgiveness and cleansing.
Have you ever seen a diseased heart? It could be larger than normal or different in color or pitted or spongy. Those of us who took biology likely saw both healthy and diseased hearts and saw the difference between them side by side on the table. Not a pretty picture to see.
Then I got to thinking about my own heart. Is it diseased with sin or is it strong and healthy? Do I need to ask God for forgiveness? Do I need to ask God for a pure heart? For him to give me a new one?
And I don't mean new in the sense of brand new, but new as in the renewing (to begin again) of my old heart. Take away any sin I have and give me new energy and strength. Make my heart pure.
I don't think any of us want a diseased heart and yet we probably each have one whether we realize it or not. And when I think of a diseased heart in a dish on a table next to a healthy one, I want the healthy one. And so if we think of it in that context, we need to be on our knees begging for forgiveness. Maybe what we've done or what we do isn't what David did or (in our eyes) as bad, but to God it doesn't matter. A sin is a sin is a sin is a sin. No one worse than the other in his eyes.
So ask God to create in you a new heart and renew his spirit in you today and everyday. Ask for that healthy heart.
Nancy
