Renew

 

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. … Create
in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. … Psalm 51:10

What do you do when there is conflict in your life? What if you are responsible for the conflict? Do you replay what happened to cause the conflict? Do you replay what was said and what you could have or should have said?  Do you think ” if only I had said this or that?”

King David wrote Psalm 51  after Nathan confronts King David regarding his affair with Bathsheba.

Psalm 51

1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;  According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. 
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity  And cleanse me from my sin. 
3 For I know my transgressions,  And my sin is ever before me. 
4 Against You, You only, I have sinned  And done what is evil in Your sight,  So that You are justified when You speak  And blameless when You judge. 
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,  And in sin my mother conceived me. 
6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,  And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. 
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;  Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness,  Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. 
9 Hide Your face from my sins  And blot out all my iniquities. 
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,  And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence  And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation  And sustain me with a willing spirit. 
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,  And sinners will be converted to You. 
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;  Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. 
15 O Lord, open my lips,  That my mouth may declare Your praise. 
16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;  You are not pleased with burnt offering. 
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;  A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. 
18 By Your favor do good to Zion;  Build the walls of Jerusalem. 
19 Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,  In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;  Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

In the above Psalm, King David praying and this is occurring almost one year later after his affair. He is now married to Bathsheba but the child she conceived didn’t live. A prophet Nathan faced King David .  This confrontation leads to King David finally confessing his sins. So King David finally admits in this prayer he is a sinner.  In verse 10, we see King David say, “Create in me a clean heart O God.”

He asks God for renewal. Additionally,  he asks for a steadfast spirit within me.  You see beloved when we sin, our sin separates us from God because he is Holy. In 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  Our confession will renew us. 

I love verse 17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and contrite heart O God, You will not despise.”  When we come broken to God, when we ask for forgiveness, God forgives as far as east is from west, Psalm 103:12.

King David is record as a man after God’s own heart.

Sometimes, there is no resolution to the conflict and you may not be able to reconcile because it takes two to reconcile. However,  you can ask God to renew your heart. You do not have to become bitter. What do you need to do to have a pure heart? Pray.