RENEW A RIGHT SPIRIT WITHIN ME
(Monday, November 20)
“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. Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation, and with Your governing Spirit establish me.” (Ps 50:10-12)
Hello again, my friends. I’m asking myself this morning: What does it mean, to have a right spirit “renewed” within me? Does God’s Spirit or His grace get old or weak, and need to be recharged every now and then, like my phone? Of course not. What needs “renewal” is my vision of Him; my focus on Him. When *I* need to change my focus and my mind (in “metanoia” or repentance), having slipped into selfish expectations or self-centered fears, it is because I have slipped into befriending “other” kinds of spirits that are not my friends; I have engaged in listening to voices in my head that call me to look elsewhere, away from God, for information and “inspiration”; that call me ultimately to chaos. Initially this chaos may be exciting or otherwise helpful, but what it is *not* is joyous. Joy is not to be found at the bottom of the rabbit-hole of sin. It is a lonely place, abounding in fears, regrets, resentments, and other such reptiles.
This Monday morning let me re-embrace God’s “governing Spirit,” Who chases away the chaos and cleanses my heart of pointless distractions, like a refreshing gust of wind. And let me move forward, welcoming His ever-new presence in my life. This whole business of seeking God’s will does take some patience and persistence, because joy takes work, unlike the short-lived excitement of chaos. But what I want today is joy, because life is too short to waste it on anything else. “Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation, and with Your governing Spirit establish me!”
