In my blog feed yesterday, I came across this post.
Create in me a clean heart from blogger, He Bids Them Come
I know I should never be surprised at the way in which God works, but it was exactly what I needed to hear today. I can relate to David – not in the exact way in which he sinned, but in the fact that, despite loving God, he found himself doing things he knew he ought not do. In fact, I daresay that because of the humdingers that David committed, and the fact that God forgave him and cleansed him, gives me hope.
David came to God with a broken and contrite heart, God was faithful to him, and continued to use him.
My heart was broken yesterday, and in humbleness, I bowed before the Lord, asking forgiveness, asking him to clean me and change me.
As a follower of Christ, sometimes I think we paint an image to the rest of the world that our lives are perfect and that we never sin or make mistakes. What I’ve learned as I walk this road, however, is that I haven’t walked a straight road. My life is made up of a series of bad decisions and choices, peppered with some better ones, probably not unlike some of you. I’ve asked Jesus to forgive me and shape me into what He needs me to be. I am a work in progress for sure, still completely full of the sin that I could let define me but for Jesus. I still have a sinful nature, and am still drawn to the sins of my youth.
If I could be real for a moment with all of you, following Jesus isn’t about preaching to others to make converts out of them. Following Jesus is about understanding His grace – his unmerited favor – that He gives to us freely when we come to Him with a broken and contrite heart. Following Jesus is about allowing Him to work in your life to shape you, and about walking with others who need Him, too, being real about who you are.
I’d like to think I’m real about who I am. I am filthy. I am broken. I am worthless without Christ. But because of Christ, I am a new creation, and I am able to begin living in ways to help others see Jesus in me, so that they might be drawn to Him. That’s my hope. That’s my prayer this morning.
Broken In Him,
SB
