Day 19 - Psalms

The Psalms teach us about an intimacy with God.  And intimacy goes both ways.  We all want intimacy with God when things are going great.  It's when things aren't so good that intimacy with God is a little, ehh, well, we're unsure of it.  When all our mess is out in the open, we get a little scared of what God might think about it.  However, David teaches us in Psalm 51 that we can share our deepest darkest secrets with God.  We can let him inside the darkness and watch him fill it with his fantastic light.  Listen to what King David prays after his sin with Bathsheba has come to light:

1 Have mercy on me, O God,



according to your unfailing love;


according to your great compassion


blot out my transgressions.


2 Wash away all my iniquity


and cleanse me from my sin.






3 For I know my transgressions,


and my sin is always before me.


4 Against you, you only, have I sinned


and done what is evil in your sight;


so you are right in your verdict


and justified when you judge.


5 Surely I was sinful at birth,


sinful from the time my mother conceived me.


6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;


you taught me wisdom in that secret place.


7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;


wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.


8 Let me hear joy and gladness;


let the bones you have crushed rejoice.


9 Hide your face from my sins


and blot out all my iniquity.






10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,


and renew a steadfast spirit within me.


11 Do not cast me from your presence


or take your Holy Spirit from me.


12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation


and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.


13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,


so that sinners will turn back to you.


14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,


you who are God my Savior,


and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.


15 Open my lips, Lord,


and my mouth will declare your praise.


16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;


you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.


17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit;


a broken and contrite heart


you, God, will not despise.

God wants to forgive you.  The great mistake we make is thinking that our sins are too big, too great and too many for God to forgive.  There is no such thing as too great, too big, too many or, simply, too sinful for God.  If we repent and seek His forgiveness, it is always there.  He is always ready to forgive us and give us a fresh start.  Usually, we're the ones that have the hang-up.  We come up with excuses why God couldn't possibly forgive us.  Often, it's that we can't forgive ourselves.  But if Almighty God can forgive you, don't you think you can forgive yourself?  If He believes in you, don't you think you can believe in yourself.

We also struggle sometimes to admit our mistakes.  Yet, God can't forgive us for sins we won't disclose and confess.  We wrongfully think we can hide things from God.  Of course, we can't.  We don't want to come to terms with our own mistakes.  We don't want to admit our shortcomings.  We'd rather ignore them and try to justify our behavior.  But there is no justification for our sins without God's grace.  Don't hold that sin in.  Don't try to ignore it or hide it.  God wants to forgive you if you will simply name it.  You'll find his grace and forgiveness is big enough.