Lent Day 34

by Chuck Romig

Jeremiah 31:31-34

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God,

    according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

    blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

    and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions,

    and my sin is ever before me.

Against you, you only, have I sinned

    and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you may be justified in your words

    and blameless in your judgment.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

    and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,

    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins,

    and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

    and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence,

    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

    and sinners will return to you.

Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God,

    O God of my salvation,

    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.

O Lord, open my lips,

    and my mouth will declare your praise.

For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;

    build up the walls of Jerusalem;

then will you delight in right sacrifices,

    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

I recently retired after spending 35 years as a full-time professor of counselor education, during which time I trained mental health professionals.  I have been fascinated with psychology my entire adult life, marveling at the complexities of a creature made in God’s image, who, as a finite being, can have a personal relationship with our infinite Creator.  A couple of perplexing questions that I have pondered my entire career are: how do you make changes in order to improve your health and well-being, and what is the source of strength needed to make those changes? The texts for today provide a profound understanding of the change process.  

The passage in Jeremiah 31 speaks of God initiating a new covenant with his people.  An integral part of that new covenant is that God will write His law on the hearts of His people.  Further, God will forgive their sins, be known to all in a very personal way, and restore a right relationship with them.  Something is going to be very different as the law will be internalized in a way that had not previously occurred. Simple knowledge of the law was insufficient to produce the holy living that God desired in His people.  

Psalm 51 furthers this concept of changing the heart.  David clearly knows he has sinned and cries out to God for mercy. He requests that God create in him a clean heart and renew a right spirit (vs. 10). He asks that God teach him wisdom in his “secret heart” (vs. 6).  

“Changing the heart” is language often used by Christian mental health professionals, and usually connotes changing something deep within the person.  Biblically, the heart is considered the center of the person and includes one’s core thoughts and thinking processes, emotions, moral character, and the decision-making part of the person (will).  In Psalm 51, David cries out for change in all these elements of his personhood.  With enough commitment, will power, and support, we can make substantive changes in our lives.  However, to really change at the level of the heart, we have insufficient power.  David knows this, so he appeals to God to create in him a clean heart, restore the joy of salvation into his life, and renew a right relationship with the holy and righteous Creator.  Most importantly, he recognizes his sin creates the very barrier to making these changes.

During this season of Lent, we would do well to reflect on the parts of our lives that still need the cleansing and renewing power of God, and, like David, cry out to our merciful God to change us.

Chuck Romig just retired after serving 23 years at Wichita State University and 12 years at John Brown University as a professor of counselor education. His specialty was working with young children and their families, particularly using play therapy. Chuck has loved studying psychology, being fascinated with the complexities of human beings created in God’s image. He and his amazing wife, Kim, have been married for 43 years, where the “for betters” of their wedding vows have far outweighed the “for worses” because of the richness of the blessings God has brought into their lives. They have two wonderful sons married to fantastic daughters-in-law, and have five delightful grandchildren. They are now figuring out how to live for the Kingdom as retirees, having relocated to the Dallas area to be close to family.