God Forgives The Repentant Soul
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
Psalm 51:16-17
Cruising down the highway of life, we are occasionally broadsided by 18-wheelers filled with trouble. In such dark times, about all we can do is cry out for heaven’s help.
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Sometimes we experience mishaps caused by our own carelessness or foolishness. We are not run off the road by an 18-wheeler, but crash because of our own carelessness or reckless behavior.
The passage above describes a time in King David’s life when he ignored God’s warning signs and drove straight into trouble. The result was a tremendous wreck that killed two and injured countless others (see 2 Samuel 11-12).
David eventually learned that the only real recovery from such a crash is via humility and repentance. No excuses or pledges will do—just the heartfelt acknowledgement of wrong and the desire to avoid such reckless behavior in the future.
GOD’S PROMISE TO ME
• I will forgive those who are broken by their sin and who want to turn away from it.
MY PRAYER TO GOD
When I sin, Lord, you do not want promises or extravagant attempts at penance. You simply want me to wrestle with the gravity of what I’ve done. Forgive me, restore me, change me. I want to be a person after your own heart.
