You, sweet soul, are not a burden.
You, yes you, sister, brother, dirtied in this March mud or celebrating in the snow melt, are made clean this very moment. Do you believe this?
So often, as fears of the future, of finances, of relationship conflicts stain my mind like ice salt, I think of Psalm 51. I think of the mud and the slush and the dirt my boots inevitably carry into my residence hall. I think of the mud and slush and dirt in my mind, from fears, unchoice words and less choice habits and behaviors my heart aches to change.
Psalm 51 is not a song of praise, although the trees are again finding their coats and the promise of spring break is whispering below the hushed tones of midterm study guides.
It is a psalm pleading for purity, written by an adulterer. A murderer. A king who felt the weight of his crown as much as the weight of his sin in this chapter.
“Have mercy on me, O God, because of your loyal love,” David prays through verses one and two. “Because of your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts. Wash away my wrongdoing. Cleanse me of my sin.”
There is nothing our Heavenly Father cannot wash you of, royal child. You are His. The father of the prodigal son in Luke 15 did not turn his youngest boy away — he welcomed him home with open arms, despite the dirt and grime of living among the pigs.
David recognized this promise when he wrote this psalm, even when he acknowledged he did not deserve such a gift.
“Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be pure; wash me and I will be whiter than snow,” he writes (Ps. 51:7 NIV). “Create for me a pure heart, O God. Renew a resolute spirit within me. Do not reject me …. Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance. Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey” (Ps. 51:10–12 NIV).
The psalmist knows his God will come through. He knows that joy will return, renewed like a house dusted and freed in its spring cleaning. He knows that God alone can make him pure and sustain him.
God does the same for us, beloved. The same for you.
Whatever dirt or dust you may carry in your heart, whatever burden you hold, it is not too heavy for the Maker of the universe.
As David declares, “The sacrifice God desires is a humble spirit — O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject.” (Ps. 51:17 NIV).
You need not punish yourself, holding your head so low, wearing your muddy boots into your house.Your Father is waiting to welcome you home and wash you with his gentle mercies. You are not a burden, sweet soul. You are simply being made clean.
Prayer:
Father, in this mud of March, thank you for your unending purity.
Thank you for your love for us, for the way you gently comb our wild ways and scrub the dirt from our fingers. Thank you for paying the price for our sin, spilling your blood for ours. God, let your forgiveness renew us. Make us clean, whiter than the snow that has seeped back into the cold earth. Soften our hearts, Lord, and remind us of your everlasting love.
Amen.
