“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. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against You, and You alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in Your sight. You will be proved right in what You say, and Your judgment against me is Just.” (Psalm 51:1-4 NLT)
“Messing up,” as I use that expression, means to sin. Sin literally means “to miss the mark,” which translates for us, to do something in thought or deed that varies from, not only the Law of God, but that violates His heart. To be crystal clear, sin is a willful transgression against an instruction of God. If the Lord says, “go right” and we choose to go left, we’ve sinned against a Holy God.
There are lots of ways we choose to disobey God, but the bottom line is, regardless of how long we’ve followed the Lord or how closely we’re seeking to walk with Him, we all have the capacity to sin. Ideally, the longer we walk with the Lord the less frequently we sin and the less severe our transgression, but we all sin.
David was a “man after God’s own heart,” yet he committed adultery with one of his soldier’s wives, then had her husband murdered to cover up his sin. The good news is, though he tried desperately to cover it up, when confronted by the Prophet Nathan, David confessed his sin and repented. Psalm 51 is the record of his sin in his own words, from which we can learn a lot.
First, God will not forgive a sin we haven’t confessed. I don’t remember the time lapse between David’s sin and his confession, but it was a lengthy period, but God’s forgiveness paralleled his confession, not before.
Next, David made no excuse for his sin. His plea began with an expression of the love and compassion of God, pleading his case, not on his merit (he had none), but on God’s mercy. Related to this, he realized though he had certainly sinned against Bathsheba and her husband, ultimately, he understood that all sin, regardless of who it’s committed against, is committed against God. That gives God a perfect right to take our sin personally, especially since Jesus died for our forgiveness, every sin is an act of tyranny against the sacrifice of His perfect Son.
Therefore, God, in David’s words, is “proved right” in whatever action He takes against us. Sin is punishable by death, but, fortunately for us, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin; however, it doesn’t give us the right to continue to habitually sin. Paul writes in Romans 6:1-2: “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?”
David confessed his sin and God forgave him. That’s the same path we must take when we sin. Recognize our sin for what it is, confess it to God, then turn from it and seek to walk in the shadow of God’s grace. Rick Warren explains it this way: “David’s point is that, no matter how bad, evil, or difficult something seems—and no matter how much we mess things up—God will work it out for good. His goodness is pursuing us, no matter which way we turn.” (See Daily Hope God Is Working for Your Good – 02-10-23)
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 