The following is from Pastor Manny (Gracepoint Fellowship Church – Austin) and I’m sharing it here with his permission:

Psalm 51:6 “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.”

I think I need to remind myself that God desires TRUTH in the inner parts. That He teaches me wisdom in the inmost place. How does that process take place? Through the taking in of His Word, but also having my heart open to it.

The problem is there are a lot of distractions. The fact is there are many things that get in the way of the Word getting to the inmost place. This is why I know that meditation and journaling is necessary, and not just in prioritizing the reading of the word. The Word has to work through the fog of my tiredness, of some small irritation, of some complaint, or some other thing that I find myself preoccupied with.

Sometimes the Word is prevented from addressing me, from teaching me because I run out of time to allow it to take root in me or that I don’t allow a sufficient amount of time. If I admit that I am sinful, like a patient, I need to do whatever it takes for this sin to get cleansed from me. Sick patients who don’t cooperate can be the most maddening thing. They don’t do what the doctor tells you, they frankly don’t know how sick they are b/c otherwise, they would be doing exactly what they should be doing: drinking x amount of liters of water per day, eating healthy, daily exercise. But they don’t. And it is maddening.

Similarly, I say I am a sinner, and yet, the sense of motivation to get my heart cleansed is not always there. There needs to be that basic fear that unless I am making a concerted effort, I can go down a very tragic path if I don’t get my sinful problems identified. What keeps me physically running is the fear of getting chronically ill down the road. What keeps me up sometimes in the middle of the night is that awareness that without a quality time of DT, without experiencing that refreshment that comes from being addressed by the Word of God, it could be over for me, and for this church.

The psalmist is desperate here. He says, “teach me wisdom,” and uses the language of cleansing. This needs to be my approach to God and His Words. This is why I see more than ever the need to really commit to studying His Word and allowing the time and possibility for the Word to get inside me, in the inmost parts.