A broken spirit…

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.”   Psalm 51:17 NKJV

When the prophet Nathan confronted David with his transgressions, David was finally compelled to admit his guilt and seek God.  

David said in Psalms 32:5, “Then I let it all out; I said, "I'll make a clean breast of my failures to God."   Suddenly the pressure was gone— my guilt dissolved,
my sin disappeared.”  (MSG Bible)

Guilt is good if it prompts us to confess our sins and seek forgiveness and grace.   With the compassionate God we have, there is no reason for us to spend our days in misery due to the guilt that comes from hidden sins.

I would like to share a story that helps illustrate the process of spiritual recovery.

When Al Johnson was 19 he had joined two other men in robbing a KS bank.  The case was closed after the other two criminals were killed in an auto crash and were mistakenly identified by bank officials as the robbers.   Al felt sure he would never be caught. 

He married a Christian girl and even pretended to be a Christian.  She knew nothing of his past crime.  Then someone sent him a tract in the mail entitled, “God’s Plan of Salvation”.   Reading it, he noticed the Bible verse that said, “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved”.   

The realization struck that salvation was for him.  He could be forgiven and his conscience set free.  The guilt of his crime accused him; the cowardice of hiding his crime shamed him.   He realized his guilt and hated it.

That is the first step in having a changed heart. 

So what steps should we take to have a changed heart?

In Psalms 51 vs 17 David spoke about a contrite heart.    The word “contrite” means: to be bowed down with the awareness of our spiritual bankruptcy, our inner spirit is crushed with a sense of its guilt, and that we have a genuine and deep sorrow for our rebellion against God and a determined desire to change.

A contrite heart does NOT seek to rationalize, explain, excuse, defend or justify sin.  It does not try to fool God or others.   It recognizes that God demands truth and honesty.  It does not mean merely feeling bad or remorseful about sin!   It also, does not seek to blame others, circumstances or God for our own failures.

A contrite heart recognizes that sin is a spiritual crime since it violates God’s laws and it is rebellion, disobedience and stubbornness of heart.

When we become aware of our sins and we are contrite of heart, we need to know that God is NOT interested in empty apologies, He does NOT want cheap promises, and He cares nothing for our efforts to balance evil with good.

 He desires a broken and contrite heart which is the true sacrifice of one who determines to turn from sin, to forsake sin, and to abandon it.

“Going through the motions doesn't please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don't for a moment escape God's notice.”   Psalms 51:16-17  MSG Bible