Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Jan/79

Contributor - Carol Moerman

Title - A Heart for the New Year

Topic - Meditation

New Year's is a time for new beginnings. We evaluate the past year and see things in our lives we would like to change in the coming year. Resolutions, made with sincere intention are so easily broken or even forgotten, yet the desire to be better than we are remains.

David expressed that desire in the words of Psalm 51:

"Create in me a clean heart, 0 God, and put a new and right spirit within me."

Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors thy ways and sinners will return to thee. (Psalm 51: 10-13)

David recognized that his heart was at the root of who and what he was, and that unless his heart was changed, he would not change. We gradually drift away from God, or intentionally sin as David did, and God must, as it were, perform another act of creation - we cannot renew our hearts ourselves! We may recognize that our behaviour needs changing. We long to be more patient, more thoughtful, to control our temper, to lose our streak of jealousy. Sometimes we are even successful for a time. However, genuine, permanent changes in behaviour or character come only when the heart is different. As Jesus says: "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft. . ." (Mark 7: 21).

We encounter only frustration when we try to change our own hearts. It is not within our ability. God never intended us to do such a thing! He is the one who created us, makes us new creations in Christ, and who creates in us a clean heart each time we find ourselves far from Him. We need only ask, as David did, for a "New and right spirit".

So often I need just such a spirit! Calvin describes it as a "free and cheerful spirit", one that is full of praise rather than complaint and criticism. How often do we complain about the weather rather than lift our hearts in praise to our God, Who is able to both freeze all of Canada or raise the temperature to 35 C. without using one kilowatt of our energy! Our complaints are really criticism of the way our Heavenly Father is running things!

When our hearts are right before God and full of praise, we automatically have a renewed sense of His presence and are more sensitive to His Spirit. The joy of salvation that David longs for is obviously not something he was taught, or read about in books, but something he has experienced in his own life and wants to taste again. God wants to lead us into deeper experiences of His presence, that we might know Him more and more intimately and have willing hearts. Many times we begin serving Him willingly when our hearts are close to God, but as we drift, we begin to serve out of obligation. The joy is gone.

God wants us to will to do His will so much that His promise was to give us such hearts. "A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone, and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezek. 36: 26).

God's greatest desire is that we know Him. If that is our desire also, our hearts will be full of the joy of His salvation, and those who have "gone astray" or who have never known Him, will be compelled to come to Him, for they shall see His Life in us!

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