One of my favorite choruses is taken from Psalm 51:10-11: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.”
This Psalm is attributed to King David, who was such a flawed character and yet God used his psalm to teach us how to obtain wholeness in God; David is crying out for God to continue in his presence and purify his heart.
It reminds me of the beatitude in which Jesus declares, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
I have that hunger. I want that presence of God in my life continually. Fill me!
It’s so difficult in today’s world when there’s so much noise around us to distract us. We can so easily get caught up in things that are ungodly with our conversation or our entertainment, but God is always ready for us to turn back to him.
King David, as the boy who slew Goliath, spent the rest of life just like you and I do — wrestling with a much bigger giant. That giant that wants to live contrary to the spirit of God, but through the power of the Holy Spirit we can have victory.
Paul wrote about this battle between spirit and flesh in Romans 7.
“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
If you know Jesus as your personal savior, then that same power that helped David overcome Goliath, that same power that delivered Paul, the same power that raised Jesus from dead, is in you. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we can have victory. We can overcome whatever giant we are facing. You and the Holy Spirit can stand against any distractions this world is throwing at you.
Lt. Mark Cyr is pastor of The Salvation Army, 661 Colorado St. Carson City, NV 89701. For information go to carsoncitysalarmy.org.
