Today I was writing my psalm for the morning and I am on Psalm 38. Normally, it’s a really uplifting exercise, but today I ran into a psalm of David where he was lamenting about his health in relation to the sins that he had committed. This one is really intense. It is always difficult to write down the Psalm when the dialogue isn’t what I’m feeling, or something that we no longer experience due to Jesus work on the cross. Today was no different, however, I was struck by David’s attitude toward his sin.
Psalm 38
A psalm of David, asking God to remember him.
1 O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your rage!
2 Your arrows have struck deep,
and your blows are crushing me.
3 Because of your anger, my whole body is sick;
my health is broken because of my sins.
4 My guilt overwhelms me—
it is a burden too heavy to bear.
5 My wounds fester and stink
because of my foolish sins.
6 I am bent over and racked with pain.
All day long I walk around filled with grief.
7 A raging fever burns within me,
and my health is broken.
8 I am exhausted and completely crushed.
My groans come from an anguished heart.
David was “racked with pain”, all because of his sin. I wonder, if we realize the weight of our sin? If we truly realize the power of the cross? Have you ever thought about what life would be like had Jesus NEVER DIED? Have you ever thought about what life is like BECAUSE He died?
As I thought about David’s grief and guilt, I felt convicted to look at my sin the way that God might, rather than how the world does.
When we weigh our sins against the world, we can easily say “Well, it’s not as bad as that person”, or “Everyone does this… it’s not a big deal”. But, when we look at our sin from God’s perspective, we realize that “the wages of sin is death” – we realize that anything that is not of Him, is of the world. I think it is really helpful as Christians, to take a look at how David felt with the gravity of his sins, and realize that we never need to feel that heavy burden because “there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus”, but it is important that we recognize that our sin still grieves God deeply.
I guess it is a balance between a deep realization of our behaviors and attitudes, met with a deep gratitude that we don’t have to be devastated by guilt, or sick with lament because God gave His one and only Son so that we could live a shame-free life.
I am constantly blown away by the multifaceted nature of our God… He is both the definition of love AND the application of justice. Because He is 3 in 1 – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, He is the ultimate lover, healer, counselor, protector, friend, family member, creator, and perfecter.
I am more aware now than ever that He is all I need, I would be really sad if I didn’t have all of the wonderful people in my life that I do, but if everything else was gone, I could still live, because He lives.
Food for thought. 🙂
Blessings
Haley
Choosing The Kingdom 