Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Our Verse of the Day today covers so many different spectrums of where we may be spiritually. Wherever you're at spiritually today, this verse can powerfully speak to each one of us. I would ask you to take some time with the Lord and really just surrender. Be aware. Put everything out on the table as we unpack this verse. May this be your heart's cry today.
It comes from Psalm chapter 51, verse 10. "Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me."
The Power of Loyalty
You may have had a loyal friend where it just seems like they would defend you, they would protect you, they're very safe, they've always got your back, they're there for you whenever you need them. They’re just a loyal friend. Some of you may think, man, I don't think I've ever had that. But that loyalty really speaks into something that I just felt heavy to communicate to you today.
If you can acknowledge, I cannot do this on my own, I can't—that is what screams behind this verse of David, King David, writing this: "Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me." Do you know why this is his heart's cry? Because this is immediately after Nathan, a man of God, came before him—the king, a man after God's own heart, as David was described. He pointed the finger at David and proclaimed that he was the guilty one for his sin with Bathsheba and having her husband killed, just a horrific sin and the entanglement that he found himself in. Nathan pointed the finger at him, and David wept and acknowledged his sin.
This is one of the verses in this chapter of him crying out to the Lord: "Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me."
Two Spectrums
The reason why I talked about two different spectrums—that God can use this verse no matter where we are at spiritually today. I say to the one who is over here, who may be finding themselves in sin, and you don't know how to get out of it—the beauty of what David is talking about is he's not saying, boy, my heart is filthy. It's horrible. And I still want You to do something in me. Stir something, you know, maybe throw a Band-Aid on it. David was able to acknowledge and understand, even in the midst of it, that God can create a clean heart where it's not just wiping some sin away, and now you feel worthless. You feel useless. You feel like God can't use you anymore. This is a clear message of saying God will never be done with you until our dying day. He can create in you a clean heart and renew a loyal spirit within you.
To the one on the other side of the spectrum, you may think, I'm not really living in sin. I'm doing great. I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do. Do you know what I would say? I would echo what Paul says in Philippians chapter 3. He listed all these great things he was doing religiously. And he said, "I counted as all loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but loss that I may win Christ."
Where Does Your Clean Heart Come From?
As we reflect on this, this is coming from a man after God's own heart. Even if you think, I'm doing great spiritually, I'm doing everything, I'm checking all the boxes, I'm doing great—at some point, David was as well. That's why he said, "Renew a loyal spirit within me." He was there at one point and somehow he got here. Do you know why? He forgot where his clean heart and his loyal spirit came from. That's why this is the cry of his heart at this point. Because he said, "How did I get here?" But he knows God's not done with him.
I would just ask you to take some time to really reflect. Are you trusting in your own? Because that's where David was. That's how he got down this road. Are you trusting in your own strength, your own power, your own spiritual abilities in your life, without understanding that actually your clean heart and loyal spirit to Him actually comes from Him? Are you seeking Him as your source?
I would encourage you, no matter what side of the spectrum you're on. May you hear this and may this be your heart's cry: "Create in me, O Lord, a clean heart. Renew a loyal spirit within me." May God do that in your heart and life today.
