Wednesday, November 19, 2014

BOLD Christian Outreach Reflections from Psalm 32

Sub title: The Freedom of Confession

“A psalm by David; a maskil. Blessed is the person whose disobedience is forgiven and whose sin is pardoned. Blessed is the person whom the LORD no longer accuses of sin and who has no deceitful thoughts. When I kept silent {about my sins}, my bones began to weaken because of my groaning all day long. Day and night your hand lay heavily on me. My strength shriveled in the summer heat. Selah I made my sins known to you, and I did not cover up my guilt. I decided to confess them to you, O LORD. Then you forgave all my sins. Selah”  Psalm 32:1-5 (God’s Word, Copyright 1995 by God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society, www.godsword.org)



There is a time in my life that I became so caught up in the fulfillment of my personal dreams for success that I sacrificed the relationship with my children and the relationship with my wife on the altar of personal achievement. I was driven to succeed even in the midst of financial ruin. The deeper in debt I became, the harder I worked to survive, and my family paid the price. I expected God to bless my efforts, but in the end I was forced to give up my personal dream. This was a hard pill to swallow and I blamed everyone around me for not caring enough to help me fulfill my dream. In my selfish anger I also rebelled against God.

God did not give up on me. He crushed that rebellious spirit, and humbled me. I finally realized that God loved me, not because I was good or worthy, but because He is a God of love. He desires everyone to be saved. He loved me because I needed to be saved. I had nothing to offer God. I was broken and helpless, but He had everything I needed. He gave me forgiveness and the full pardon of my sins. In Christ I was set free.

When I confessed my sin to my wife, she forgave me! I didn’t deserve that kind of unconditional love! I also confessed my sin to my children; it was difficult to admit that I had failed them as a father when they needed me the most. As a result of my selfishness I had lost out on many precious moments with them that I will never be able to reclaim. The most difficult task in this process was forgiving myself. It took many years before I could totally accept God’s unconditional forgiveness for me.

The words of this Psalm still ring clearly in my head and I am always reminded that I am still a sinful being who daily needs the assurance of God’s forgiveness. But I am not alone; Jesus died for everyone and has already paid the price for their sins. Every person who confesses their sin before God will receive a full pardon from Him.

This is our outreach promise. It is God’s Word that convicts people of their sin and it is God who will forgive those who confess their sin. “Day and night your hand lay heavily on me. My strength shriveled in the summer heat. I made my sins known to you, and I did not cover up my guilt. I decided to confess them to you, O LORD. Then you forgave all my sins.” Psalm 32:4-5 (God’s Word, Copyright 1995 by God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society, www.godsword.org)

BOLDly share this good news with those you love: it is the most loving gift you can give.  

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