Create in Me a Clean Heart
By: Sheila Reaves, Denver, Colorado
I distinctly remember reading Shakespeare’s Macbeth in my high school English class. I don’t remember much about the play, but I do remember the notorious scene when Macbeth has committed murder and then is trying to wash his hands of the blood. He does succeed in getting his hands free of the blood but frantically rubs them raw as he laments that all the oceans of the world wouldn’t be capable of washing the blood away. His sin and his guilt destroy his mind as well as his heart.
The heart is mentioned 826 times in the Bible. Its condition is described in many ways; humble, believing, hardened, faithful, loving, obedient, pure, wise, etc. This list goes on and on. We all strive to have a heart like God. David was described as being a man after God’s own heart, but he was not perfect. He sinned by taking another man’s wife, lying, and then having Bathsheba’s husband killed. Afterward, he begs God to cleanse his heart: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). We may think this a strange request, but David knew God. He knew His power. He had witnessed that power and His promises. Who better to ask to create a new, clean heart than the Creator himself? David recognized that his heart needed cleansing. He recognized his sin. He also sought comfort from God because he knew God was merciful, willing, and able to help him.
For God to have an effect on our heart, there must first be a recognition and responsibility on our part. In the book of Exodus, God hardened Pharaoh's heart. In Acts 16:14 God opened Lydia’s heart to hear the words of Paul. Did Pharaoh and Lydia have a part in this? Of course they did! Pharaoh lived a life of stubborn, hateful disobedience. Lydia was a generous, kind, loving woman. The condition of their hearts and minds made it easy for God to do these things to them. He used the conditions of each of these character’s hearts to do His will. Our responsibility is to condition our hearts in such a way that our Creator can make them what He needs them to be. So how do we prepare our hearts so they can be transformed by our God?
Our first step in conditioning the heart is to turn to the Word. It should always be our compass; it is all-knowing. In Hebrews 4:12, it is described well: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The scriptures are very revealing. When we compare ourselves to them, they reveal things. There is a reason they are referred to as the living scriptures. The Bible, like the seed in the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13, is not dead, but living, able to bring life abundantly. It can only affect our lives abundantly if we compare our lives to it and make the appropriate adjustments. This takes self-awareness, recognition, discernment, and wisdom. Look at yourself in all honesty and compare your heart to God’s word. How does it look?
Once you put in the work to improve those things that need your attention, then God has an amazing springboard to work from. As David recognized, God has the power to create a new heart within us. Ezekiel 36:26 says, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Our next responsibility is to keep our hearts clean. One of the most difficult things to do is to forget our sin. Have you ever noticed that when you do something wrong, the memory of that wrongdoing often springs into our minds many times, sometimes years later. We can linger on that memory and beat ourselves up over our actions. Guilt takes over once again, and we are back to the endless cycle of guilt, memories, and self-deprecation. If the heart returns to that condition, it is not fertile ground that can be used by our God for His glory. Those weakened times are when the devil can come in and expand our doubts and fears. Have faith and understanding that when God cleanses our heart and forgives our sins that we are made whole again by his mercy and grace. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” In John 14:27, Jesus reminds His disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” So trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean on Him. If you have asked Him to cleanse your heart, He has.
MacBeth did not understand God’s grace. His guilt consumed him. David, on the other hand, understood the mercy of his Lord. The consequences of David’s sin were evident in the death of his son. David mourned and lamented his son’s sickness and suffering. Once his son died, though, David got up, ate, and returned to his duties. He understood the consequences of his sin. He also understood that God keeps His promises and always had in David’s life and in the lives of his ancestors. David asked, and the Lord gave. He asked for God to create a clean heart in him and God gave him what he asked. We also need to come to a deeper understanding of God’s love and mercy as David did. May we all develop that much faith!
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).