A Clean Heart
How do you get clean?
Verse of the Day
“Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.”
Today’s Devotional
Have you ever asked a child to clean anything? Generally speaking, asking a child to clean anything is a useless request. They might make one wipe of the counter, or run their hands under water without using soap.
On the other hand, as adults, we tend to be better about cleaning things because we have more knowledge and experience. Do you know the feeling of renewal when you have a long, hot shower after a long day of physical labor? There is renewal in being washed clean.
But we are not capable of doing the kind of cleansing mentioned in today’s verses. We are even less capable than a toddler attempting to deep clean of a house after a middle school sleepover. We simply aren’t able to do this kind of work.
David looked to God to do the spiritual and moral work of cleansing. So should we. David knew he couldn’t cleanse himself, not with service or devotion or changing his actions. He needed the kind of bath that only God can give. So do we.
Why do we need a clean heart? Let’s look at what Jesus says. “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” (Luke 6:45) And then in John 13:8, Jesus tells Peter, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”
Everything that flows through our minds, out of our mouths, and from our hands and feet comes from the core of who we are – which is our heart. And we can’t clean our hearts without coming to God and allowing Him to do this work.
David then takes his request for cleansing a step further. He asks for a NEW heart. And he uses the word “create”, which only God can do. Theologian James Boice says, “The word that begins this section is the Hebrew verb bara, which is used in Genesis 1 for the creation of the heavens and the earth by God. Strictly used, this word describes what only God can do: create ex nihilo, out of nothing.”
Along with a new heart, David asks for a loyal spirit to be renewed in him, which he needed to live in the way of godliness after God had cleaned him and given him a new heart. This is the kind of spirit that is loyal and faithful to God in all circumstances, which gives the ability to resist the devil and the pull of this world. A loyal spirit is needed to keep a clean heart clean.
As we seek renewal, we would be wise to follow the example of David. After we have humbly confessed our sins, we come to God for cleansing, a heart that only He can create, and a spirit that will stay devoted to Him. The image that keeps coming to my mind is a simple (and perhaps silly) example: Pretend you open the door of a closet (your heart) and it is a giant mess. The mess spills out into the room as soon as you open the door (your sin). So you throw away everything in that mess that you don’t need (confession and repentance). Then you invite God to do the work of cleaning that you can’t do: scrub the floor, wipe off all the surfaces, maybe even put on a fresh coat of paint (cleansing). Next God builds some new structures for your closet so that it will work better for what you need (your new heart that God created and placed in you). Finally, God puts some new tools in the closet, like hangers and baskets, to make it more functional (the loyal spirit). Now this closet (and your heart) can function in the way it was originally intended. Which for us, our purpose is to bring glory to God and to live in service to Him and others. None of which we can do without coming to the Father for a fresh cleansing of our heart every time we need it.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How has God cleansed you in the past? How did that feel?
How have you tried to clean and renew yourself without God’s help? How did that go?
How can you come before God to allow Him to do this cleansing and renewing work in your heart? What would that look like? What step can you take today to make space and time for God to do His work in your heart?