In the life of King David, there came a time when he made a bad decision and committed adultery with the wife of Uriah, one of his faithful soldiers. He tried to trick Uriah into enjoying the pleasures of his wife, but Uriah’s integrity prevented him from doing that while his fellow soldiers were still on the battlefield. David then conspired with his general to have Uriah killed in battle to cover up his sin.
The prophet Nathan confronted David about his sin. David realized just how far from God he had strayed and confessed his evil deeds to God and repented, begging God for forgiveness. It is at that point that David wrote Psalm 51. Let’s look at
Psalm 51:10-12 KJVS. [10] Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit (loyal spirit) within me. [11] Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your holy spirit from me. [12] Restore unto me the joy of your salvation; and uphold me with your free spirit (make me willing to obey you).
In Psalm 51, David had sinned and cried out to God to cleanse his heart and allow His Spirit to dwell in David’s heart. He knew that he could lose the presence of the Spirit of God, and he cried out to God to allow him to still sense that presence in his life. Long before the arrival of the Holy Spirit to the body of Christ in the book of Acts, David knew that God could create a right and loyal spirit within him through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
David knew the presence of the Spirit of God was something he valued and needed. He knew it was something that could be lost, and he did not want that to happen.
David isn’t the only one who desired to experience God’s presence.
Isaiah 26:9 KJVS. [9] With my soul have I desired you in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek you early: for when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Isaiah reveals that there is a yearning in the soul to seek God through the spirit. That yearning for the presence of God still exists. It existed in the life of Isaiah and David, and the yearning to sense God’s presence is still in the hearts of people in the year 2022.
Many people never admit their spirits need to connect with God’s spirit. They look to entertainment, recreation, drugs, sexual pleasures, careers, and anything else they can find to try to fulfill the yearning for God in their hearts. They seek thrills from extreme sports and dangerous activities. They travel the world looking for adventure or secret knowledge to satisfy the yearning. They invest time, money and effort in trying to find their place in the world. But none of those things will ever satisfy the yearning for God.
Physical things cannot satisfy a spiritual need. When people discover physical enjoyment cannot satisfy the yearning, they turn to spiritual sources to try to discover God. However, many of those sources are full of deception because they come from the great deceiver, satan. People study false religions like Bhuddism, Islam, Hinduism or even Satanism trying to connect to something greater than themselves. They consult pshychics, mediums or tarot cards.
They become fans of Harry Potter, the Twilight series, and other mystical sources of entertainment. They dabble in the occult or witchcraft. But all those sources only lead them to false hope, false worship and a false god who is trying to take the place of the one true God who is the creator of the universe. Even if they won’t admit it, their souls, our souls, your soul needs a spiritual connection to the one true God.
They look everywhere for a response to their need, but they refuse to look to the one place that has the right response. They reject God Jehovah and His response to their yearning deep in their hearts.
What is God’s response to our need?
Ezekiel 36:26-27 NLT. [26] And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. [27] And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.
God expressed to Israel there would come a time when He would take out their hard, stubborn hearts and replace them with a new, responsive heart that contains the Spirit of God. That time began at the resurrection of Jesus and the arrival of the Holy Spirit to Christ’s body, His church. It will be completely fulfilled at the return of Jesus. Until that day comes, we can have the Spirit of God dwelling with us and even in us.
The apostle Paul reassured people that God’s Spirit is in us in
1 Corinthians 2:12-13 NLT. [12] And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. [13] When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.
With the creation of the new covenant through faith in Jesus and the sending of the Holy Spirit to the body of Christ, His assembly of believers, God now enables followers of Jesus to know His spiritual truths and the blessings God has given to disciples of Jesus. Our spirits can now be connected to God through faith in Jesus. Our yearning is satisfied because our spirits have been transformed, reborn, re-created through Christ.
The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives does more than satisfy that deep yearning for the reconnection to God that was lost when mankind rebelled against the commandments of God.
1 John 4:13 KJVS. [13] Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
The proof that we now belong to God is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Our spirits are now alive and back in right relationship with God because of the power of His Holy Spirit. The process of transformation that began in your life when you asked God to forgive you is a spiritual transformation.
You no longer have to follow the dictates of the evil spirits active in the world. You now can choose to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God. You have been changed through your spiritual rebirth. That change is the basis for everything else that is transformed in your life. You are now a new creation because you now are influenced by the Holy Spirit of God.
God called you to repentance through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. The blood of Jesus cleansed you of your sins and brought a new birth to your soul by the creative power of the Holy Spirit. You have been made an overcomer and witness to the good news about Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives you boldness and signs and wonders that prove that Jesus is Messiah and you are a disciple of His.
People who believe in Jesus and put their eternal future in His hands have experienced a spiritual transformation. If you have not experienced that spiritual transformation, today would be a good day to have that experience. Satisfy that yearning in your heart that can only be satisfied through a connection to God through faith in Jesus. Ask God to renew a right spirit in you right now.
