Day 19: Our Source
of The Heart of God: Through David’s Eyes
Below is Day Nineteen of the study, but there is an introduction to check out which gives context and sets the tone, and previous weeks to look at below. If you would like the full content all in one place, this book is now available for purchase on Amazon. Week 1 - He Longs for Us to Know Who We Are
Week 2 - He Longs for Us to Respond
Week 3 - He Longs for Us to Know Him
Day 15: Psalm 51
Day 16: Our Judge
Day 17: Our Benefactor
Day 18: Our Redeemer
Day 19: Our Source
When my son was in elementary school, he told his friend that he would buy his ticket for the movies because “we had plenty of money”. He wasn’t wrong: the $10 for the ticket would not be sacrificial for us, and it wasn’t a big deal, but I still had a talk with my son. While he was well-intentioned, the money he was promising was not his to give away. He was overconfident in his ability to dictate what we bought or did not buy. When my son told me that we needed to pay for his friend’s ticket, I responded that I would be happy to buy the ticket as soon as he completed a few extra chores to offset the cost.
However, this same son never needed to ask me to buy him a ticket when we went to the movies. I always cover his ticket, and I don’t concern him with which seats he wants or which showing we are going to. I take care of the details lovingly and without any thank you or understanding. I provide the experience for him because he is special to me.
As we follow God, we often call upon Him and think that we can determine what He needs to do if we just pray and ask Him. Then, like an overconfident child, we expect God to follow through the way we want Him to provide. We tell him how to accomplish what He wants to accomplish.
In Psalm 51, David acted as an accurately-confident child. He knew God would provide for him what he asked. When David was asking for God to move and do things, He was already aware of what God is able and willing to do. He was making requests of a loving provider, not telling God how to move or behave.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (Psalm 51: 10-12)
David asked God to continue to do the good work he was already doing. He knew God didn’t want to reject or leave him. David, with confidence, was asking for what God had previously provided: a pure heart, closeness, the Holy Spirit, joy, and salvation. God was continuously David’s sustenance, and David was allowing God to meet his true needs. Since God had already been what he depended on, the reality of God already being these things for Him allowed the story to continue. His source of good, protection, safety, and joy, was God alone.
God is the source that David relied on when he faced a giant, battles, and warzones. The reason he was alive was because of God’s interventions in his life.
Think back to what David has faced throughout the course of his life. How did God show David that He was the source of all he needed in his previous circumstances?
Do you rely on God to be the source of what you need: physically? Emotionally? Socially? Relationally?
How would you describe the term, “pure heart”?
Reflection
Write these verses and translate them into your own words.
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, → and renew a steadfast spirit within me. →
Do not cast me from your presence →
or take your Holy Spirit from me. → Restore to me the joy of your salvation → and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” →An excerpt of The Heart of God: Through David’s Eyes by Jill Ng