One Minute Devotion: Psalm 51:10

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a clean heart O God:  and renew a willing spirit within me. 

What other supplication is more powerful than the one requested in this verse? Of all the lamentations and prayers, we lay at the Lord's altar, what could exceed this sincere but crucial plea? We ask God for; help, healing, strength, wisdom, protection, and providence on a regular basis. If we truly sought out a clean heart and willing spirit, everything else would seem insignificant. A man or woman who submit themselves to God and His purposes live extraordinary lives, far beyond anything they had comprehended or understood. What is a clean heart, anyway? This is not a final state of being, but a continual process. A clean heart is one that seeks freedom from the trappings of sin. But how? By avoiding those things that would draw us into temptation. Temptation itself is not a sin. It becomes sin when we dwell too long in the places we know better than to visit, both physically and figuratively. A clean heart is the honest and humble admittance that we need God to keep us from the snares created by the enticing of our own lusts and desires. Those things, we know deep within our spirt, are hazardous and detrimental. So what is a willing spirit? The hardest thing to obtain is a willing spirit, because, despite our conversion, we are still fleshly beings who struggle with very real internal issues, past hurts and resentments, anger, conflict, turmoil, and temptation. So is it an impossible thing? Fortunately no. The willing spirit is the decision to seek God first in all things, allow him to work within us, submit our goals and agendas to Him, and look to His word as the foundation of how we live our lives. It is a tall order and takes a lifetime on earth, and an eternity with our Lord to accomplish, if then. Those who seek to have a willing spirit want God to work through them to accomplish something greater than themselves. It is a commitment to living a life according to God's word. Not an easy path, but God provides the strength and support to journey down it. What are your deepest desires? Is God any part of them? The irony is, even when we keep God out of our plans, He always keep us in His. God bless.