Scrubbing My Heart

Stubborn stains stick to the basin, scouring powder plasters every inch of the surface.  I scrub and scrub.  Putting all my strength into getting out spots that insist on remaining.  Going over and over the stains that seep deep down.  My arms ache. My back protests. Some stains yield.  Some resist.

I am like that sink.  And God is my scouring pad. I’m stained and spotted. God is scrubbing. Showing me spots and stains. I’m yielding. I’m refusing. Sin seeps in, roots deep.  I’m raw with recognition of the sin in my life.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (19) For what I do is not the good I want to do; no the evil that I do not want to do, this I keep on doing.  Romans 7:15,19

Paul says it well.  I don’t want to sin, yet I continue to do the very thing which distances me from God.  Scrub, scrub, scrub.  Sin is chafing.  When I open my heart to the Lord he opens my eyes to the distance I have created between us.  He begins to cleanse me, to purify me.  Sometimes all that scrubbing leaves me sore.

Thankfully God has provided us with a special cleansing agent.  A cleansing agent that abounds in love and mercy. The blood of Jesus Christ.

To the Lord our God [belong] mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. Daniel 9:9

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  Ephesians 1:7

Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38

The narrow way is never easy to follow.  God told us it wouldn’t be.  With God at the lead I must forge ahead, even when it is painful.  Even more so when it is painful.  If I turn away from my Lord just because he is opening up raw wounds with his scrubbing, I will never know the fullness of His love.  I will never experience the full extent of joy that Jesus can provide.  I will never feel the soothing balm of his forgiveness, mercy, and grace.

Jesus died for me.  He paid the price of my sins, so that I may know His cleansing forgiveness.  Jesus takes away the pain of sin if I ask for forgiveness.  Even sin that I may repeat over and over again. He purifies me. He creates in me a new heart. He loves me with an everlasting love. Yes, a sinner like me has found redemption. 

I pray that you, too, may know the price that Jesus paid for your sins.  Open your heart to him.  Acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior.  Place your soul in His hands.  Live for Him so that you may feel release from the weight of your sins.  Ask for forgiveness and be filled with joy only Jesus can supply.

Take a moment and lift your heart up to His today.  You will immediately know that…

Forgiveness cleanses!