Joel Osteen Devotional July 26 2021 – A Pure Heart

Psalm 51:10, NIV

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

In Psalm 51, David offered God a prayer of repentance in which he acknowledged sins he had tried to cover up for a year. He was so weighed down with guilt and condemnation that he became sick and weak. That moral infection started to poison his physical life. David finally confessed his sins and asked God to forgive him. Things began to turn around. Once he released the guilt and got the infection out, his health was restored. He could receive cleansing in his heart, purity in his heart, and renewal in his spirit.

As David did, we all make mistakes and sin. Too many people make the mistake of holding on to them or trying to hide them. They get bitter, live guilty, and go around with self-pity. Don’t hide it. You weren’t created to live under condemnation. Go to God and ask for forgiveness. Then here’s the key: Receive His mercy and ask for a pure heart that He can fill with good things–strength, joy, passion, creativity, and happiness.

Father, thank You that I can have a pure heart today. Thank You that I can release any sin, any mistake, any guilt and bitterness and flush them out of my life. Help me to forgive whatever needs forgiving, to let go of the past, and to walk in the joy of my salvation. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.