Life has a way of beating us up, doesn't it? I know I've felt beat up a time or two this year. Difficult, stressful situations wear me down. They tend to bring out the worst in me. I'm forced to see things in me that I thought were dead and buried since I've begun walking with the Lord. It seems there are some things in me that just refuse to die. Then, when the dust has settled, I wonder, "How can I face the Lord after this?" But I go to the Lord anyway because He is everything to me. Without Him I have no hope of changing, no hope of surviving.
I thank God that He loves me so much that when I come to Him and confess my sins, He does not shame me or despise me. He welcomes me, forgives me, and loves me. I may get disciplined, but I would rather have the Lord's discipline than live without being reconciled to Him.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 (NIV)
Nothing is better fuel for the Enemy's fire than the discouragement that comes from sin, especially if we sin after we've made a fresh commitment to the Lord or have been walking in joyful fellowship with Him. But I've learned to immediately go to the Lord and confess so that "times of refreshing" can come...and the sooner the better!
Just look at how compassionate our God is:
"He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust." Ps. 103:10-14 (ESV)
Thank you, Father, that you do not deal with us according to our sins. Thank you that you remove our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. Thank you for your compassion to those who stand in reverent awe of you. Thank you for remembering that I am dust. Help me to live each day in submission to your perfect will and authority. Help me align my mind, heart, and soul with your Word. Fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I may have the power to live as you want me to live. In Jesus' name. Amen.
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
