Five Habits of a Cleaned Up Sinner – Habit #4: Open Up!

“Surely you desire truth in the inner parts” Psalm 51:6

All of us long to experience life the way God meant it to be—a fulfilling, enjoyable, satisfying relationship with Him. But there is a problem! Our sin keeps getting in the way. Learning to deal with the sins that so easily entangle us is absolutely critical! In Psalm 51, David leads us through five steps to cleansing and restoration. This week we have learned three of the five habits of a cleaned up sinner—’fessing up, looking up, and owning up. Now David realizes that to truly come clean before God he needs to open up.

Being fully open to God about our sin is essential to complete restoration. David knew that in order to effectively deal with his sin he had to allow God access to the deepest parts of his being. This is why he prayed, “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place” (Psalm 51:6).

I find it interesting that the Hebrew word for “inmost place” is satum, which is derived from a root word often used in reference to an ancient tactic of clogging up an enemy’s wells. In Genesis 26:12-15, we see an account of this when the Philistines, fearful of the growing prosperity of God’s people, plugged up Isaac’s wells so that Isaac and his family couldn’t have access.

When David spoke of “the inmost place” in the midst of his dramatic prayer of confession in Psalm 51, I wonder if he was, in essence, admitting that he had been plugging up his heart with self-preservation tactics and blocking God from having full access to the core of his being.

I don’t know about you, but it’s a challenge for me to be flat out honest about my sin. I feel a lot better about myself if I can hide my sin behind an excuse or rationalization so it doesn’t seem quite so nasty. Covering up sin is as old as the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve did the fig leaf thing to make them feel better about the shame and guilt of their sin. We all know the fig-leaf excuses: “I couldn’t help myself.” “If you only knew what my mother was like, you’d understand.” “Hey, come on, nobody’s perfect.” “I know a lot of people who are a lot worse than I am!” The fig-leaf excuses only keep us from seeing the real need of our hearts, which is cleansing and forgiveness. This is why God desires “truth in the inner parts.” He wants to forgive and restore us to life the way he intended it to be—life with the joy and satisfaction of an unhindered relationship with Him. The only way to get there is to open up the lid and give Him complete access to the “inner parts.” No more excuses. No more rationalization.

The fact is, when we truly own up to our sin, we no longer have anything to hide. It’s a matter of being honest with ourselves, with others, and with God. And thankfully, when we open up our hearts to God, He is ready and waiting to replace our clogged-up lives with the living water of His presence, filling our hearts with His wisdom and truth.

It’s time to open up and give God healing access to our hearts. Let the cleansing water flow!

YOUR JOURNEY…

• Do you identify with David’s analogy of plugging up the well of your heart? Do you tend to hide your sin and restrict God and others from having full access? What are the ramifications of restricting God’s access to your heart? What are the benefits of letting God have full access?
• According to Psalm 51:6, God wants to put truth and wisdom into your heart. How do truth and wisdom keep your life from sin? What sins in your life could be headed off by truth and wisdom? Write out the truths and points of wisdom that could take the place of the untruths and foolishness that made you vulnerable to sin. Review the first four steps in the “Five Habits of a Cleaned-Up Sinner.” Is there one step that needs more attention that the others? If so, ask the Lord to help you make definitive progress in that area.
• Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for habit #5!