Day Two: Psalm
51:1-5 Be gracious to me, God, according
to Your faithful love; according to Your abundant compassion, blot out my
rebellion. Wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. For I am conscious of
my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. Against You— You alone—I have
sinned and done this evil in Your sight. So You are right when You pass
sentence; You are blameless when You judge. Indeed, I was guilty when I was
born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
THERE ARE FEW THINGS MORE REWARDING as a parent than being
present but unnoticed by your child while they do something they know is wrong.
The moment you clear your throat to let them know you are there is classic.
They immediately begin justifying, excusing, and even denying what you (and
they) know they did.
Without fail it’s the same story when
it comes time for them to apologize. It goes like this: “Son, don’t just say
you are sorry, tell me what you did and why it was wrong.” He usually fires
back, saying “You saw what I did.” For some reason there is a road block to
actually verbalizing the wrongdoing. It is a lot easier just to say, “I’m
sorry,” than it is to confess, which means verbalizing the wrongdoing and
agreeing that the wrongdoing was wrong.
God doesn’t just want to hear us say we
are sorry—that is easy to do and it is only a superficial response, as opposed
to a genuine heartfelt confession. Why is this a big deal? God is after our
heart and just saying we’re sorry isn’t a heart issue.
King David is heartbroken over his sin
and Psalm 51 is a far cry from a superficial “sorry.” It is a heartfelt,
detailed account of his sin, which leads to complete restoration with God. A
restoration that doesn’t come from a simple “Sorry.” Does God know we sinned?
Yes, He was right there. Naming your sin in front of the One who saw you makes
you see how bad it is and how bad you need forgiveness. When confession is met
with a plea for forgiveness it ends in restoration.
PAUSE AND REFLECT
▷▷Why is it hard for us to say we’re sorry?
▷▷Why does God require more than just an apology when we sin?
▷▷How does David’s confession set a model
for us?
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