We all sin. Daily. There is a weight that sin brings. If left unattended, that weight is crushing. We have disconnected from our God, so why would we expect less? Most of what we endure and blame on other reasons is simply undealt with sin.
God, in His mercy, lays His hand of conviction on us to bring us back to that place of life and blessing in His presence. This is not an act of punishment for the believer but loving discipline.
Healthy believers understand this process and become lifelong repenters. They deal with their sin quickly and thoroughly. They know that if they cover and hide their transgressions, they will not prosper spiritually (Proverbs 28:13). The path to a healthy, godly life is not sinless perfection, but immediate confession.
To help us see the foolishness of sin, David writes of the pain he endured because of his sin in Psalm 38. This should be a preventative warning to us … a call to keep us from entering into temptation, and also an instruction to quick repentance if we have sinned. Notice all he suffered from his sin.
SPIRITUAL SEPARATION AND PRESSURE
For Your arrows have sunk deep into me, and Your hand has pressed down on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation. (Vs. 2-3)
For my iniquities are gone over my head. As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me. My wounds grow foul and fester because of my folly. (Vs. 4-5)
I am bent over and greatly bowed down. I go mourning all day long. For my loins are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am benumbed and badly crushed. I groan because of the agitation of my heart. (Vs. 6-8)
My heart throbs, my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes, even that has gone from me. (Vs. 10)
My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, and my kinsmen stand afar off. Those who seek my life lay snares for me, and those who seek to injure me have threatened destruction, and they devise treachery all day long. (Vs. 11-12)
Are you suffering from these very things? Read through the list again. Don’t mistake spiritual conviction for anything else. Don’t lay it off on your schedule or others. Ask God to show you if there is anything displeasing to Him that should be dealt with. In the majority of cases, our spiritual and emotional distress is nothing less than unconfessed sin.
There is only one remedy for our sins. We must come in humble confession and repentance to our great King.
For I confess my iniquity. I am full of anxiety because of my sin. Do not forsake me, O LORD. Oh my God, do not be far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation! (Vs. 18, 21-22)
Don’t run to something else (other things, other people) when He alone is the source of relief. He is mighty to save and will cleanse and restore us. He has everything to gain by helping us back to health and the intimacy of His presence.
Precious Father, help me to be honest before You. Show me my sin and anything that is hindering my relationship with You. Please give me the understanding to see the foolishness of my sin and the courage to confess it fully and turn from it entirely. Restore the joy of Your presence in my life, and then let my lips tell of the greatness of Your mercy and salvation!
