Acknowledge It for What It Is

Psalms 38:1-4 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure! For Your arrows pierce me deeply, and Your hand presses me down. There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

How do we respond to sin in our lives? Are we truly broken over what we do, when we sin against God? Note that I did not say, "When we sin against others." Why? Well, because when we sin, we are primarily sinning against God. Joseph had the right perspective when he ran from Potiphar's wife, in that he responded to her this way, "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" It seems that the majority of the time when we acknowledge God as the One we sinned against, it is only when we feel the weight of the consequences. As followers of Jesus who claim to love God, we need to feel, and respond, to the weight of our sin immediately, and not wait until the consequences show up. We need to truly mourn our sin. We need to acknowledge our sin for what it is, and call it what it is from God's perspective. We also need to realize that when God chastens us, He does it in love, for our own good and benefit, and for the sake of drawing us closer to Him. His discipline may not seem "joyful for the present, but painful"; however, Hebrews 12 reminds us that the end result of God's chastening will "afterward yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it" (Hebrews 12:11). Today, let us come before the Lord, in true repentance and confession, acknowledging that our sin is against Him; and asking Him to forgive us, as He promised He would (1 John 1:8-10). Let us ask Him to cleanse us today, so that we can draw near to Him and walk in purity of heart, in the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).