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| Photo by Daniel Y Go |
Psalm 51 never fails to reflect the longing of my heart.
Perhaps, in part, it is because this psalm was proclaimed in the liturgy we
repeated every Sunday in the Lutheran church where I grew up. Its words were
forever etched in my memory and now, as a believer, they are written on my
heart.
As I read the words this morning two verses especially stood
out:
You
desire truth in the inward being;
therefore
teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Psalm
51:6
How often am I truly honest with myself? I convince myself
that what I am doing, saying, or thinking is okay; it’s justified, and understandable.
Yet, deep down, I know that I act from wrong motives, my words are a false
cover up, and my thinking is entirely selfish. Why do I try to deceive myself
and God? God knows the truth! It’s time I admitted those truths to myself.
Create
in me a clean heart, O God,
and
put a new and right spirit within me.
Psalm
51:10
I have prayed this verse over and over and over, and yet it
never gets antiquated, irrelevant, or unnecessary. Every day I start out with
the best of intentions; and every day sinful, selfish human nature shows
itself.
Thankfully, our loving God provided a way for our hearts to
be made clean:
For
by the blood of Christ we are set free,
that
is, our sins are forgiven.
How
great is the grace of God!
Ephesians
1:6
For
it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith.
It
is not the result of your own efforts,
but
God's gift, so that no one can boast about it.
Ephesians
2:8-9
How has Psalm 51 spoken to you? Won’t you please leave a comment? I would
love to hear your thoughts.
©2013 Pamela D. Williams
A to Z Devotions for Writers
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