Scripture:
Psalm 51:7 The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit –
O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject (ESV).
Observation:
The Psalmist turns our thinking on its head. What we think is pleasing God is doing what He wants us to do. We follow a list of rules, or look at others and say to ourselves we’re doing better than our friends and acquaintances in obeying God. However, we rarely look at their hearts or ours for that matter. The Psalmist gives us the key to acceptance by God. Not by all the things we do to try to please Him or stay in good graces with Him, but by having a humble and repentant heart. That’s it. If we are in that frame of mind and posture before the Lord our acceptance is guaranteed.
Application:
I don’t know about you, but I get this wrong so many times. In fact my “goodness” gets in the way of my being right and accepted by God. I look at others around me, I tally my good works and think that God must be happy with me. So not the case from this verse. Our acceptance comes from being humble and acknowledging how much we need Him and His power in our lives every minute of every day. These have been truths that have escaped me so many times. How bout you? Are you counting on your good works today, or your humility before God?
Prayer:
Father God please forgive us (me) for presuming that your favor can be won through doing good things instead of approaching You in a humble manner. Show us Yourself today as we humbly submit ourselves to you. We pray these things in the strong and wonderful Name of Jesus, Amen!
dmbaldwin
Sixty-six books in a year 