‘Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and put a new and right spirit within me’ Psalm 51 v10
THE season of Lent is here. Lent is a time of preparation, of spiritual spring-cleaning and reconditioning which can challenge us to reflect on our relationship with God and each other. Lent provides opportunities to assess rough and hard experiences of life, the inner wounds we carry, along with the things that are worthwhile and health promoting, and, most importantly, the place we give to God in our living.
The psalmist recognised that what was crucial and central to daily life was a willingness to have God remake his heart, to have his whole motivation tuned into God’s way of being. He cried out to God, asking for the gift of spiritual reconditioning, for ‘a clean heart and right spirit’, which is God’s heart- transforming work, offered to all who turn to Him. The psalmist knew that this was the only way to live close to God and so find inner peace and wellbeing.