God's Gifts and Our Cry for More

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. 14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

The passage above is from Psalm 51. This is a heart cry from David after his sin with Bathsheba that broke his relationship with God. I'd like to take note of a few things

from this passage.

David asks God to create a pure heart in him.

David asks God to renew a stick-to-it spirit with in him.

David asks God to not cast him away or take His Holy

Spirit away from him (because of his sin).

David asks for restored joy of salvation that comes from God.

And then, David asks God to give him as willing spirit.

God gives David a pure heart and a determination to remain faithful.

God keeps David close and fills him with His Spirit.

God restores David's joy of his salvation and then, on top of all that,

God gives David the will to pursue Him.

God does all these things, not because David is worthy but because

he looks to Him in faith asking Him to do something with the mess he's

made of his life.

David asks for forgiveness because he knows that God is his Savior.

David then asks God to open his lips so he can testify to what God has

done and give Him praise.

Note that God does every little thing. David only looks to Him. He does this

with a broken heart and contrite heart. He longs for God. His longing is not

that he himself be something. He knows that any good in him comes from

from God. Maybe we can learn something by looking as David as a fellow

seeker of God.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17