Pages

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

The Freeing Power of Confession (Psalm 32)





David was a man truly loved by God but David was not a perfect man. David’s life was marred by grave sins. But, David was teachable and David knew the importance of reconciling to God. He also knew how to use the imperfections of his own experiences to serve as an example for other hearts to learn from.  That’s why I love this humble Psalm which came from his sincerely penitent heart. 

"Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” (1-2)
David understood what a precious gift it was to be 100% forgiven. This is a precious gift freely given to each of us for the blood of Jesus completely covers our sin. 

“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah” (3-4)
David also knew the oppression of unconfessed sin. God wants us to recognize and repent of our sins so that we can be spiritually healthy and in His will. When we are His children, His Spirit will convict us and not let us be comfortable in our sin because God knows the damage that sin causes in our lives and in our hearts. 

“I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah”(5)
If God is dealing with your heart about sin, He is dealing with you out of love and He wants you to come to Him with an honest, exposed heart that is not trying to make excuses or deny the sin festering within. He wants that sin to be dealt with so we are not encumbered by it. Because of our salvation through Jesus, all of our sin is forgiven but sin unchecked in our lives can still impact our spiritual walk, testimony and spiritual well-being. 

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.” (8-9)
God longs for us to trust Him and allow Him to guide our steps. Unconfessed sin in our lives comes from our stubbornness and independence. If we try to be self righteous, we also fail to truly yield to God because we don’t dig and expose what needs to be dealt with. We just cover it up and dismiss how harmful it can be. God wants us to be honest, willing to self examining our motives and prepared to be teachable and yielding. He wants a close relationship with each of us and confession of what needs to be yielded to Him is an important part of that. He wants us to have understanding and know His will and then His Spirit can work in our hearts to change us more and more into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. 

“Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.”(10)
David’s experiences taught Him that there is a big difference in the life of the one who trusts God and the life of one who chooses to let sin reign instead. How blessed we are to have the favor of the One who can cleanse our hearts from sin and surround us with an amazing, bountiful steadfast love. No matter how far away from God your heart may stray, His love never fails to welcome your confession and sincerely repentant heart.