What do you sense in your heart today?
That question requires a heavy dose of introspection. We have to move beyond our thoughts and behaviors to see what drives us. This humbling process encounters the darkness within us.
Today, in the Browncroft reading plan, we read Psalm 51. The descriptor of the passage hints to moments after David gets confronted by Nathan following his affair with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah (2 Samuel 12-13). David repentantly and vulnerably pleads for God’s mercy and forgiveness.
The lie for us reading Psalm 51 means believing that we have not sinned as much as David. The danger of not taking the invitation of introspection of this passage dismisses the darkness of our hearts. The darkness, brokenness, and even sin of our hearts will damage our lives for more than we ever realize.
For the past few years, I have found myself praying Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a pure heart…” Those six words pause me long enough to encounter the darkness of my own heart. I have needed to see the pride, bitterness, and resentment that so easily entangles me. Ultimately, sin and brokenness not confronted will manifest itself in the situations and relationships of our lives.
The six words of “Create in me a pure heart” cause us to see the following:
- Unforgiveness towards others rotting our hearts with revenge.
- Greed pushing us to jump over people to accumulate more and more.
- Resentment and bitterness ghosting people in our lives.
- Pride releasing toxins of our superiority.
- Anger unleashing rage on those who we would never want to hurt.
- Gossip and unwholesome talk as a means to damage other people.
The good news of the gospel shines a light through the darkness of our hearts. Jesus, in His mercy and grace, heals and forgives us, releasing us from the guilt and shame. Jesus exchanges the darkness of our hearts with the light of his love, grace, joy, and hope. Imagine that exchange in the situations and relationships you will encounter today.
Jon Forman wrote the song, “White as snow.” Watch the video of the song below and read Psalm 51. Let’s walk in the glorious light of Jesus’ freedom of a clean heart.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash