"Restore to me the joy of your salvation and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you." – Psalm 51:12-13
In a Christian world that emphasizes sacrificial love, we might not expect to hear the words “start with me.” Yet there is an important sense in which transformation must begin within our own hearts.
It is easy to point out what is wrong in the world in general or in others specifically, isn’t it? We see corruption in politics, division in communities, and brokenness in relationships. We shake our heads at the choices people make, wondering why they cannot see the truth.
David, in Psalm 51, understood something we often miss. Before we can effectively help others return to God, our own hearts must be cleansed. He did not start by calling others to repentance. He started with himself. He asked God to restore his joy and renew a right spirit within him. Only then was he ready to lead others to God.
Jesus made the same point in Matthew 7:3-5 when He warned against the hypocrisy of focusing on the speck in someone else’s eye while ignoring the plank in our own. It is much easier to fixate on the faults of others than to feel our own need for grace.
Galatians 6:1 says, "Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted." True restoration comes from those who humbly recognize their own need for God's grace and walk in step with the Spirit. It is not the self-righteous who bring healing, but those who extend mercy from the mercy they have received.
When our hearts are humbled and healed, we will not just be critics of the world’s brokenness. We will become living testimonies of God’s restoring power. The grace we have received from Christ will overflow to others, our words will be seasoned with gentleness, and our presence will promote peace. The world does not need more people pointing fingers. It needs more people transformed by Christ, extending the same grace in Christ they have received.
Allow God to do His deep work in your heart. When He does, your life will not just be changed, it will become part of the healing this world desperately needs.
Prayer: Lord, I so often focus on the problems around me while neglecting the work You want to do in me. Search my heart, cleanse me, and restore my joy in You. Make me a vessel of Your grace so that others may see Your love and be drawn to You. Amen.