As I shared in the last devotional, in the book of Hosea, the Lord said that it was His desire for His people to be merciful and to know Him (See Hosea 6:6). In addition, David states the following in the book of Psalms:
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise. Psalm 51:17
David asked the Lord to give him a clean heart. He wrote this after his adultery with Bathsheba and ordering the killing of her husband. David did not recognize his sin right away until the prophet Nathan confronted him. However, he acted spiritual for months and brought his offerings and sacrifices to the Lord without having a contrite and pure heart.
It is easy to become religious and do the religious activities and the rituals. Those of us who have walked with the Lord for quite a few years are even in greater danger. We know the scriptures and the worship songs. We can do the right things and perform our ministries. We can become talking heads and preach to everyone else thinking that those things are evidence of being spiritual, yet our hearts could be cold towards the Lord and towards the people.
The above scripture is not about being sad all the time or walking around with guilt and shame written all over our face. It is about keeping our heart tender and pure before God. It means that we continually allow the Lord to examine our hearts and give Him room to speak about those things that crowd our hearts and minds for Him. It is also about being merciful to others especially those who are hurting.
Recently, I had a conversation with a friend that led to talking about someone else. I made a statement that referred to this person’s motives. Later on, as I began worshipping the Lord, He convicted me that I do not know one’s motives and when I speak on others’ motives, I give room to an accusing spirit in my life. I had to quickly repent, and later I contacted the friend and asked for her forgiveness as well.
Questioning someone’s motives does not come from a heart of love, and it is not merciful to others. Right now, in our culture, accusations are flying in all directions. If we are going to be peacemakers, we have to refrain from doing it ourselves and speak words of life in those situations rather than jumping on the bandwagon and fanning people’s anger and frustration into flame.
A contrite heart is open to God’s correction and is purposed to glorify Him. A contrite heart leaves the pen in God’s hands and allows Him to write out the plans the Lord desires for the day. A renewed spirit is humbly joyful and trusting in God. A pure heart does not require boasting to feel important, but its purpose is to have compassion on those who are hurting. A clean heart is guarded from allowing the issues of life to pollute or embitter it. A steadfast spirit looks to the Lord for words of life and encouragement, so he/she can be an encourager to others.
Lord give us a clean heart and a steadfast spirit who desires to please you. Help us to be merciful rather than accusatory. Let the condition of our hearts be more important to us than our performance!
