Repentance and Renewal #ProjectPositive

Scripture

Psa. 51:10        Create in me a clean heart, O God,
        and put a new and right spirit within me.
11     Do not cast me away from your presence,
        and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12     Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
        and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Observation

The awful moment of truth had set in and David realized the depth of his sin. He had committed adultery with Bathsheba and then connived to have her husband killed. It doesn’t get much worse than that! In this dreadful moment he realized the depths of his sin and his need for repentance and renewal.

David did confess and repent of his sin and asked God to place within him a clean heart and a new spirit. He recognized that his motivations were compromised by a selfish spirit, one which had to be replaced by God’s spirit. He also realized the need for a deep relationship with God on an on-going basis, a face to face — in God’s presence — kind of a relationship. It is this face to face relationship with God that allows for the holiness of God to be reflected in and through us. David needed to be entirely sanctified by the holy presence of God consuming every crack and crevice of his being.

The joy of salvation would return and he would be sustained by a willing spirit. Repentance brought about renewal and a new positive chapter would be written in David’s life.

Application

It took a while for a new positive chapter to be written for David and there were consequences of his behavior. He had to live with the negative and he was in deep pain as a result, but allowed God to continue to move him to the place of the positive.

We may have lived through the negative and terrible pain of life, but God wants to do something deeply positive with the negative. His spirit of transformation can take the negativity that we have endured and make it positive.

Living behind the facade of “everything’s okay” will not lead us to transformation. Instead, we will live in the crushing weight of sustaining a false reality. The only way that we can move forward is to be willing to stand before God — in his holy presence — and confess where we have failed. This doesn’t seem very popular these days, but repentance is the first step toward renewal.

The next step may include restitution for the wrongs which may have been committed. Again, hiding from the past and trying to maintain a “fake identity” only becomes weighty and discouraging. This is not what God had in mind for his people. Let go and be willing to confess what we’ve done and go back and ask people for forgiveness, making restitution. Look at the example of Zaccheaus — who gave back to the people more than he had taken.

#Project positive is the result of repentance and renewal in the Spirit. God takes control and we submit wholeheartedly to his authority and leading which is transformational. When this happens we don’t have to fight for our own “rights” but instead, turn it over to God in whose presence we stand and allow him to shine through us.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for your transformational power at work in and through your people today.  Amen.