Thou are not pleased with burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.
Psalm 51:16-17
Observation:
David’s heart was far away from God’s ways. It's Spring Break and King David is not at war - where he should be - but he's taking naps and living in leisure in his brand new palace. That year's spring break can be called, "David Gone Wild." His lust consumes him as he watches Bathsheba taking a bath. His flesh is strong and his spirit is weak, so he commits adultery, murder, and conspiracy to cover his sinful tracks. He shut down the voice of the Spirit in his conscience, but later on, got caught under a supernatural revelation to Nathan the prophet.
David was shocked not only at the way Nathan wisely confronted him with his sin but also at the realistic evaluation of his fallen heart. That’s why he appeals to God’s grace, lovingkindness, and mercy to be forgiven and cleansed from his iniquity. He was disgusted with his stained heart and requested God to create in him a clean heart, to renew a diligent spirit to obey God’s ways, and to restore communion with the Lord’s presence.
What amazes me the most about this incident is David’s understanding of restoring communion with God. Normally the tradition was to present a guilt offering and a burnt offering to atone the sin. But for David that wasn’t enough if the heart was far away from the sacrifice. He literally came to the Lord with a broken spirit, a contrite heart, and a humble and repentant attitude.
Application:
We know that our sin damages our intimacy with God and that confession and repentance restores that relationship. But we must very careful to live that reality seriously and with the highest level of respect. We must understand that having a broken spirit is more than an apologetic attitude. It’s a lifestyle of humility before God that prompts us to distrust our human instincts and trust in the power of God to defeat temptation. Having a broken spirit is more than feeling sorry and shameful for our bad behavior. It’s a condition of complete dependence in God’s grace, mercy, and lovingkindness. It’s a state of mind where our self-sufficiency is vanishes and Christ’s work in the cross fills the smallest crack and flaw.
When we come to the Lord with a broken and contrite heart, we approach him humbled by the greatness of God’s character compared to ours. In His presence we expect not only to be treated fairly by God but also to be loved by Him. That’s why God is pleased with that attitude more than all the sacrifices we can make. The broken spirit is vulnerable to God’s love and is healed by the power of the blood poured in Calvary.
We must develop a lifestyle where our heart becomes broken and contrite when we fall. We cannot take God’s grace as a game where we sin and then we ask forgiveness lightly. We must break our hearts before God, expose its rotten condition, and allow Him to put it all together with His love and grace over us. We must value our communion with God more than anything by learning how to restore it when we sin. Probably that’s one of the reasons why God hasn’t removed the presence of sin among us. He wants us to love Him strong enough to be willing to break our hearts, to humble ourselves in His presence when buffeted by our sin, and by depending solely in His grace, not in our good efforts.
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, please forgive me for not having a broken spirit and a contrite heart at all times. Many times I tried before to please you with good works, with sacrifices, but without a heart of repentance and humility. Please grant me a clean heart that will repel the stain of sin and that will stay humble in your presence. Let your love and grace flow over me in such a way that I become speechless and unable to restore communion with you on my own efforts. Let my faith be placed in the cross alone and in the price you paid for my sin. I know that I will continue sinning in many ways. So please give me a broken spirit to come to you in a way that pleases you and that allows you to heal my brokenness. Amen.
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