THE SORROW WE NEED

August 23, 2017

We are too flippant in our day. If is far too easy for us to sin repeatedly, bringing reproach upon the Name of Christ and opportunity for the enemy, and go on as if nothing had happened. We are so calloused by the repetition of our sin and the ever-presentness of sin around us that we are de-sensitized slowly, yet profoundly. And our spiritual lives and effectiveness suffer more than we know because of it.

Not David.

He writes in Psalm 38 as a man in deep sorrow and repentance.

""Your arrows have sunk deep into me and Your hand has pressed down on me ... there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities are gone over my head; as a heavy burden, they weigh too much for me ... I am bent over ... I go mourning all day long ... I groan because of the agitation of my heart ... Yes, I am like a deaf man, who does not hear and a mute man who does not open his mouth."" (vs. 2-14)

SHUT UP BEFORE GOD

We usually have a lot to say, defending our position, blaming others, rationalizing our sin. But David saw his folly so deeply that he was quiet before God.

A.W. Tozer writes of the ""wound of contrition"" over our sin that we need.

All great Christians have been wounded souls. It is strange what a wound will do to a man. Here's a soldier who goes out to the battlefield. He is full of jokes and strength and self-assurance; then one day a piece of shrapnel tears through him and he falls, a whimpering, beaten, defeated man ... There is nothing like a wound to take the self-assurance out of us, to reduce us to childhood again and make us small and helpless in our own sight.

Tozer goes on to say ...

I don't know about you, but the only way I can keep right with God is to keep contrite, to keep a sense of contrition upon my spirit. Now, there's a lot of cheap and easy getting rid of sin and getting your repentance disposed of. But the great Christians, in and out of the Bible, have been those who were wounded with a sense of contrition so that they never quite got over the thought and the feeling that they personally had crucified Jesus. (Tozer, ""Man, the Dwelling Place of God"")

David knew this and it drove him—continually, humbly, and longingly—to God. He was never far from God because he was always deeply aware of his need. And, once setting His heart there, he had hope. ""For I hope in You, O Lord; You will answer, O Lord my God"" (vs. 15).

This contrition and hope are necessary ingredients to the spiritual revival we long for, both personally and corporately.

""Lord, keep me humbled by the knowledge of my sinfulness apart from You—my bent to pride and self-centeredness, to coldness and apathy, when I wander from Your side. Never let me lose the awareness of my frailty and Your sufficiency; my sinfulness and Your righteousness, my abundant need and Your abundant supply. Thank you that I can draw near to You and You have promised to draw near to me. And in You, I find everything I need and You desire.""

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