Psalm 51
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
(verses 10-12 NIV)
I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.
(verse 17 MSG)
And earlier in the chapter:
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
(verse 8 NIV)
A word that represents repentance and hope, sin and forgiveness, brokenness and restoration.
Father, you value a repentant heart. You are always ready to receive me, not matter what. But I’m struck by verse 8,”……the bones you have crushed…” and in verse 17 “I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered.”
Restoration comes at a price. It’s only when I lay aside my pride, when I recognize my complete inability to do anything of lasting consequence on my own that I can see you Father. And it seems that the best way for my vision to improve is through the hardships of life. The props have to be pulled away, the comforts I so desperately need threatened, the self-worth I attach to how other people perceive me (my wealth, my career, my position) must all be revealed for what it is; false!
Jesus, thank you for your relentless pursuit. Thank you for never giving up on me. Thank you for your desire to release the true “Cal”. Thank you for brokenness and how it opens a pathway to purification. Thank you for never letting me settle for “brokenness lite”. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
Amen
Cal Funk
Cal who is married to Joan, is the Director of Cell Ministry at Seeds Church and a part of the Leadership Team.