Sept 23 - Psalm 38:17-18

I am on the verge of collapse,

facing constant pain.

But I confess my sins;

I am deeply sorry

for what I have done

Psalm 38:17-18

I didn't want to write about sin today. 

David (and our progression through the Psalms) gave me no choice. 

 

Read all of Psalm 38. In our culture, sin is a joke. It's mostly measured in calories (as in "sinfully delicious" or a "guilty pleasure"). Few people blush anymore. 

 

But not David. He grieved over sin. Read all of Psalm 38.

 

·         Because of sin -- verse 1 -- he worries about God's "rage" and "rebuke."

·         "Discipline" -- verse 1 -- is what he says he deserves. 

·         His own awareness of his own sin make David feel like he's been "struck deep [by] arrows" and "crush[ed by vicious] blows" -- verse 2. 

·         "3 My whole body is sick ... because of my sins."

·         "3 My health is broken because of my sins. 

·         For David -- verse 4 -- sin is an impossibly "heavy" load that is "overwhelm[ing]."

·         His "5 foolish sins" are like "wounds [that] fester and stink.

·         His awareness of sin "ben[ds him] over and rack[s him] with pain" and fill[s his] days with grief" -- verse 6. 

·         Sin "br[eaks his] health"; indeed, it's like a "raging fever [that] burns within [him]" -- verse 7. 

·         "Exhausted," "groan[ing]," "anguished," and "completely crushed" -- verse 8 -- is David's ultimate condition. 

 

See ... David wouldn't let me avoid talking about sin. 

 

And ... do you see how seriously he takes it?

 

How about you?

 

Let me offer you a challenge:

 

·         Think of the worst sin you've committed this week. 

·         Read the list above again. 

·         And challenge yourself to feel just like David did over this sin. 

·         It's only when we truly grieve over our sin that we truly understand God's holiness. And it's only when we comprehend God's holiness that we truly begin to grow in faith. 

 

In Christ's Love,

a punching bag

(my sin does that to me)