Psalm 32:5 - Confession and Guilt.
Psalm 32:5 (NLT) Finally, I confessed all my
sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, I will confess my
rebellion to the LORD. And you forgave me! All my
guilt is gone. Interlude
INTRODUCTION
What is confession? To confess our sin is to
agree with God, acknowledging that he is right to
declare what we have done as sinful and that we are
wrong to desire or to do it. It means affirming
our intention of forsaking that sin in order to
follow God more faithfully. [Life Application SB]
COMMENTARY PEARL
Coming Clean
Years ago, a talk show segment featured
the story of a little dog named Mugsy who had
been hit by a car and was presumed dead by his
owners. His grieving family buried him in a corner
of their yard. But the next morning at 5:30,
there was scratching at their back door.
Much to the familys surprise, it was
their beloved Mugsy. Apparently, he wasnt dead
after all. The persistent pup dug himself out of
his grave.
That is what unconfessed sin is like. We
may think weve buried it, but it will be
back. There is only one way to get rid of our sin,
and its at the cross of Jesus Christ. We
cant cover it. We cant hide it. And we cant
run from it. It will stay with us until we
confess it.
After his sin of adultery and murder,
David eventually admitted to God that he had
sinned. Later he wrote about it in Psalm 32: When
I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted
away, and I groaned all day long (verse 3
NLT).
David continued, Finally, I confessed
all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my
guilt. I said to myself, I will confess my
rebellion to the Lord. And you forgave me! All my
guilt is gone (verse 5 NLT).
He didnt try to blame someone else for
his sin. He didnt try to hide it at this
point. Rather, David called it what it was, and he
dealt with it in a straightforward way.
We always want to blame others for our
sin and say that it isnt our fault.
Do you need to own up to something
youve done? Or, are you playing the blame game?
There must come a point in your life when you say,
Ive sinned. Ive committed this iniquity. The
problem is me. And that is when things will
change for you. [Greg Laurie from Harvest
Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com]
COMMENTARY
Unresolved Guilt
What kind of person does unresolved guilt
create? An anxious one, forever hiding, running,
denying, or pretending. As one man admitted, I was
always living a lie for fear someone might see me
for who I really was and think less of me. I hid
behind my super spirituality but this lie was
exhausting and anxiety producing.
Unresolved guilt will turn you into a
miserable, weary, angry, fretful mess. In a psalm David
probably wrote after his affair with Bathsheba, the
king said, When I refused to confess my sin,
my body wasted away, and I groaned all day
long. Day and night your hand of discipline was
heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in
the summer heat (Psalms 32:3-4 NLT).
As the apostle Paul told Titus, Gods
grace is the fertile soil out of which courage
sprouts! Gods readiness to give and forgive is
now public. Salvation is available for
everyone! (Titus 2:11,15 MSG). From Anxious for
Nothing [Max Lucado Daily Devotional at
maxlucado.com]
Hiding from God
In the garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve
disobeyed God and committed the first sin, their
response was to hide from God. Of course they
couldn't, but they tried. There have been times in my
life when I have tried to hide my sins and
mistakes from God and others. I have to say, it's
exhausting.
Many of us have a picture of God as
someone who wants to punish us for our mistakes, so
we hide from him. We act like children who are
afraid of being spanked. But the fact is, we have a
God who wants to forgive our sins. There may be
consequences associated with our actions, but we don't
have to carry around the shame and fear of
punishment.
Instead, we can confess what we have
done, the mistakes we've made, the bad choices we
have made, the sins that separate us from God.
When we seek him, he promises that we will find
him. When we ask to be forgiven, he forgives us.
It's as simple as that. Any time we are ready to
freely surrender our sins, he is ready to love us,
forgive us, and show us a better way.
Yes, Lord, I don't ever again want to
have to hide from you. Thank you for inviting me
to come before you, sins and all, and ask for
forgiveness. In Jesus' name, Amen. [Celebrate Recovery
Daily Devotional by John & Johnny Baker]
Davids repentance was sincere and deep.
There was no effort to palliate his crime. No
desire to escape the judgments threatened, inspired
his prayer. But he saw the enormity of his
transgression against God; he saw the defilement of his
soul; he loathed his sin. It was not for pardon
only that he prayed, but for purity of heart.
David did not in despair give over the struggle.
In the promises of God to repentant sinners he
saw the evidence of his pardon and acceptance.
PP725
Forgiven
Do you acknowledge your sin and ask for
forgiveness but still continue to feel guilty? If so,
perhaps you don't understand how complete and
amazing God's forgiveness is. He not only forgives
us, but He forgets our sin (see Isaiah 43:25). I
suggest you stop talking to God over and over about
things He has forgotten. If you have truly
repented, then your sins are definitely forgiven from
God's standpoint, but maybe you need to receive
the forgiveness and forgive yourself. Remember,
Jesus took your punishment, so you don't have to
punish yourself by feeling guilty and condemned.
God's forgiveness is total and
complete... receive it!
When I sin, I immediately acknowledge my
sin, I repent, and receive God's complete and
total forgiveness. [My Time with God by Joyce
Meyer]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
1 John 1:9 - Confession Brings Forgiveness
and Cleansing.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20230131-0945.html
Deuteronomy 30:19 - Choose Life!
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220610-1020.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
