Walking With Christ

Every parent that has ever cleaned their house has probably said something along the lines of, “Hey, I just cleaned that,” as they watch their child or children turn what was once spotless into something more akin to a war zone.

Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.(ESV)

I don’t think we ever truly grow out of this cycle of making messes. This verse is part of a powerful prayer from David after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan about his sin with Bathsheba. In this one verse, David recognizes two crucial things: first, his heart has been tainted by sin and can’t purify it on his own, and second, that he needs a renewed spirit to guard and protect this newly cleansed heart.

David understood God’s grace in a way that many people find difficult to grasp. He had been anointed and prepared for his role in the kingdom and is remembered as one of Israel’s greatest kings. David experience both the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. He is called “a man after God’s own heart,” which begins with the acknowledgment that he was still human—flawed, like all of us.

David knew that God’s grace was not a free pass to keep sinning. Instead, it was a reflection of the relationship he had with God, a testament to God’s goodness. As C.S. Lewis wrote of Aslan in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when Susan asked Mr. Beaver if Aslan was safe: “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king, I tell you.”

There are no empty threats with God. He says what He means and means what He says. If He were “safe”, we could live however we wanted without fear of punishment or consequences. But God, like Aslan, is not safe—He is good. He will discipline those who need it, but always with perfect timing and perfect justice. He won’t punish more or less than is necessary. He may not be “safe”, but He is always good.

This is why David, when given the choice, preferred to fall into the hands of God for punishment rather that into the hands of man (2 Samuel 24). He trusted in God’s goodness, even in His discipline.

Think about how often we make messes of our own lives, only to be reminded that we need God to cleanse our hearts. Are we willing to trust His discipline, knowing He is good? Let us, like David, ask God to create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us, trusting in His goodness even when we face His discipline.