Only God Can Create a Pure Heart

Claire Black: This is True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. I’m Claire Black. Together, we’ll explore God’s truth for us one drive at a time.

Song:

I am a true girl.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
I am, I am, I am a true girl!

When you eat a warm, gooey, chocolate chip cookie and your hands get all messy, what do you do? Yeah—wash them . . . or at least use a napkin! Same thing for s’mores. They’re messy, but you can clean yourself up.

Well, that’s not how it works with your heart. You can’t clean it yourself.

We’ve been taking a deep dive into purity. Purity is about having a clean heart that loves what is right and good. 

But what happens when:

• You see something online you know you shouldn’t . . . and you keep looking?
• You do something wrong . . . and then try to hide it? 
• You tell a lie to make things easier for yourself? 
• You hurt someone, but don’t want to admit it? 
• You know something isn’t right in your heart, but you ignore it?

That’s exactly where King David was when he wrote Psalm 51, a passage in the Bible that helps you know what to do when you have impurity in your life. I’ve been there. You’ve been there. We all have!

You remember that Dannah Gresh and Suzy Weibel are in the middle of an amazing trip. Well, today they planned to head out to the Belize Barrier Reef, where usually the water’s so clear you can see up to 100 feet beneath the surface! But now, there’s a storm stirring up the ocean’s dirt and debris. What does that mean for Dannah’s and Suzy’s outing?

Let’s dive into this episode to learn that “Only God Can Create a Pure Heart.” Here’s Dannah.

[Pouring rain on a metal roof]

Dannah Gresh: Oh, Suzy! This is the biggest bummer. Who knew it was going to storm like this on our big snorkeling day!?

Suzy Weibel: Right! This is not the Belize Barrier Reef experience I had in mind.

Dannah: Same. I was picturing crystal-clear water, colorful fish, maybe a sea turtle moment.

Suzy: The captain literally said, “Visibility is terrible.” Which feels like a polite way of saying, “You will see nothing!”

Dannah: No snorkeling today.

Suzy:
No reef.
No fish.
No stingrays or nurse sharks!

Dannah: Just us . . . under a metal roofed porch.

Suzy: With a frustrated pelican.

[Pelican squawks]

Dannah: He’s probably as sad as us . . . but also hungry. I mean, he can’t fish in that murky water.

Suzy: He seems to have the same idea as us: wait it out!

Did you bring the fluffernutter sandwiches?

Dannah: Yeah. I never head to the ocean without a couple. And, Cheez-Its, too! I don’t know why, but I love fluffernutter sandwiches and Cheez-Its together when I’m on a beach! I am a little hungry. Great idea.

Suzy: Um, okay, but I wasn’t thinking about us eating them. I was thinking you should offer one to our new friend. 

Dannah: Bummer number two of the day! I don’t really feel like sharing with a pelican. Truth be told, I feel 200 percent selfish and frustrated right now. But . . . okay . . . here ya go, Pelican Pete!

[Pelican squawks]

I guess we can split the second one, Suzy! Here.

Suzy: Thanks.

Dannah: So, the captain said it’d take twenty-four hours for the water to clear again.

Suzy: Yeah, I’m lookin’ it up on my phone right now. This website says “The ocean cleans itself through natural physical and biological processes, including microbial breakdown of pollutants, particles settling to the seafloor, and filtration by marine life, like oysters. The sun cleans the ocean after a thunderstorm primarily by using solar radiation to trigger chemical reactions.”

Dannah: That’s amazing! So basically there’s a whole cleaning crew—starring the sun —just waiting to make the water pure again.

Suzy: Good thing. I mean, can you imagine trying to clean the ocean yourself? That would be impossible.

Dannah: Exactly.

Hey, we could grab our Bibles while we wait for the storm to pass! 

It actually sounds like we’re getting close..

Suzy: Okay. That whole thing about the ocean cleaning itself reminded me of something. Psalm 51.

[Pages turning]

It’s a psalm written by King David. He wrote it after he had done some things he knew were wrong. He tried to hide it. In fact, he went so far as killing a man to hide his sin—one of his friends. But you cannot outrun a dirty conscience. Deep down, David knew his heart wasn’t right. It wasn’t clean.

And when he finally stopped hiding his sin, he sat down and wrote this: Psalm 51 starting in verse 1.

Have mercy on me, O God
because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins.
Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.

Dannah: He’s getting honest!

Suzy: Yep. In verse 5 he says:

I was born a sinner—
yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

Dannah: That verse really helped me once. When I was sinful, I thought it ruined something like perfection in me. But that’s not true. We were all born sinners. We’re just naturally good at it.

Suzy: I mean, is it safe to say, we sometimes even like it?

Dannah: Oh yeah! The Bible says it’s pleasurable “for a season.” But when it’s not fun any more. It feels really bad.

Suzy: That’s where David was when he wrote Psalm 51:10.

Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Dannah: Hmm, he knew he couldn’t clean his heart up on his own.

Suzy: That’d be as impossible as cleaning the ocean after a storm. So, he asked God to do the work He could not do—to purify his heart.

He even goes on to write:

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.

Dannah: “Willing to obey you!” That’s something I need help with.

Suzy: Like when you don’t feel like sharing your fluffernutter sandwich?

Dannah: Hey! Well, yes.

Being needlessly grumpy is ugly no matter what causes it.

[Pelican squawk]

Suzy: When we feel the dirt and muck in our hearts, we don’t have to work harder, we just have to ask God for help.

Dannah: Does that count when you’re feeling grumbly because your vacation plans have been completely ruined?

Suzy: That . . . and every other sinful tendency we all have!

Dannah: Well, look at that. The sun has made its way out.

Suzy: Let the ocean cleaning begin!

[Wings flapping]

Goodbye Pelican Pete! And by the way, you’re welcome for the lunch!

Claire: True Girl, have you ever felt like King David? Hiding your sin and feeling dirtier and dirtier all the time? I’ve felt that way, more than once.

But it doesn’t have to stay that way. You can stop hiding. You can tell God, “I’m sinful, and I know it. I can’t fix it on my own!” Then ask Him to clean up your heart.

In fact, I want to pray for you about that right now.

Father, I pray for all the tween girls out there, right now, that is they are hiding any sin that they would seek Your face and find true freedom and Your cleansing. And, that they would know that because of the sacrifice of Jesus, we don't have to hide any more, but we can seek You and find freedom. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Now, expect God to begin to work in your heart. I have another good idea for you: tell your mom what makes you feel impure.

Is it something you saw online?
Something you heard someone say?
Something you did that no one knows about?

Tell her.

Suzy didn’t read about it, but David had someone to talk to about his sin: the prophet Nathan. (You can go read about it in 2 Samuel chapter 12.) And you need someone, too. Tell your mom. She’s someone God can use to clean up your heart.

In Dannah’s book for teen girls, And the Bride Wore White, there’s a whole chapter dedicated to how important it is to have your mom and other mentors to talk with about what makes you feel impure. The book discusses seven truths every girl needs to live in purity. Your mom can get a copy at MyTrueGirl.com.

Not a teen yet? That website also has lots of resources for girls under the age of twelve, like the book Lies Girls Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free. And, of course, our True Girl Subscription Box! Again, that website is MyTrueGirl.com.

Now, let’s hope the sun and the oysters do their job of team cleaning the ocean! Dannah and Suzy need to get in the water to go snorkeling. That’s next time. Hope you’ll join us.

Song:

Oh, oh, oh, oh.
I am a true girl.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
I am, I am, I am a true girl!

The True Girl podcast is a production of Revive Our Hearts, calling women of all ages to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

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