“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. For day
and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Selah For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him. You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”
Psalms 32:1-11 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.32.1-11.NKJV
I have known about Jesus since I was six. My mom explained Jesus to me and, because she was my mom, I believed her. I would bounce between Jesus and my own way most of my life. Yes, there were times I dove into sin with both feet. Actually, I think it was more like a belly flop than a dive. Each time I wavered, my head was lower in shame asking God to forgive me again. Yes, I couldn’t seem to make the faith stick to me like glue. I was a Teflon Don sliding off like the fried eggs I made. I was unfocused like the kids I taught with ADHD. Distracted by world around me, I would focus on whatever I saw benefitted me.
Like most stories that look wonderful, the house of cards fell on me. What do I do? I can fix this. The more I tried, the more I realized I was peddling against the current up a waterfall. Okay then, get on my knees again?
Fast forwarding, my faith became solid because this time I built a good foundation (remember Matthew 7: 24-27?). Just like David’s nose dive into sin, I knew I was forgiven. What a wonderful thing to be forgiven! I remind myself of what a great gift I was given when I need to forgive others. It doesn’t matter what sin(s) you have done. What matters is to lean on God for forgiveness and cleansing. Next time, remember to use cement on the foundation instead of sand you got from the beach. I think taking truckloads of sand from the beach in Hawaii might be illegal anyway.
by Kent Brosh a Kawaiaha’o Blog Contributor
Alberta, Canada
