AUG. 27, 2013
Surrounded
By Mercy
Read: Psalm 32
He who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him. —Psalm 32:10
It
was almost impossible not to see the giant billboard with the red background
and
huge white letters that shouted: “This year thousands of men will die from
stubbornness.”
Later I learned that the billboard was one of hundreds just like
it targeted at middle-aged
men who typically avoid routine medical screenings
and often die from preventable
conditions.
Psalm
32 deals with the spiritual disease of sin, which can be treated by honest
acknowledgment
and repentance. The first five verses express the anguish of hiding our
guilt
and then celebrate the joyful release of confessing our transgressions to God
and
being forgiven.
This
psalm goes on to show that the Lord longs for us to seek His help in difficulty
(vv.6-8) and receive His guidance. “I will instruct you and teach you in the
way you should
go; I will guide you with My eye” (v.8). We are hindered,
though, when we stubbornly
refuse to follow His direction and repent from our
sin.
God’s
Word urges us, “Do not be like the horse or like the mule, . . . which must be
harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you” (v.9). Rather
than hold
on to our sin, the Lord offers an alternative: When we humbly
confess, His mercy shall
surround us (v.10).
Heavenly Father, help us now
At Thy feet to humbly bow;
Take away all thought of sin,
Make us clean and pure within. —Bartels
The first step to receiving God’s forgiveness is to admit that
we need it.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
