Daily Bread

Happy the one whose transgression is forgiven,
and whose sin is covered.
Happy the one to whom the Lord imputes no guilt,
and in whose spirit there is no guile.

For I held my tongue;
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all the day long.
Your hand was heavy upon me day and night;
my moisture was dried up like the drought in summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and my iniquity I did not hide.
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Therefore let all the faithful make their prayers to you
in time of trouble;
in the great water flood, it shall not reach them.
You are a place for me to hide in;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with songs of deliverance.

The thing about forgiveness is that, for it to affect the forgiven, it has to be mediated. Think of forgiveness like a gift being held out to us. Yes, the gift is ours, but unless we acknowledge it and accept it, then it is of not benefit to us. God holds out the gift of forgiveness to us, and the Psalmist writes that not admitting we need it and accepting it — 'holding our tongue' — really messes us up on the inside! The writer uses some wonderful metaphors such as it feels like our bones are wasting away, daylong groaning, a heavy hand upon us, and our moisture being dried up like a drought in summer! Ewwww! It does not sound like fun to me!

Sin is like a great flood of water that threatens to choke and drown us, but God has thrown us a life line, and holds out a hand to pull us to safety. We do not deserve God's forgiveness and we cannot earn it, but God is love and God is ready and willing to forgive us — no matter how many times we find ourselves in times of trouble — all we have to do is say, "God, yep, I've messed up!"

Holy God
I confess my sin to you
and choose to be open about my mistakes.
Help me remember that you are the God of love —
that your strong arm is ready to deliver me,
and your heart is ready to forgive my transgressions.
I recommit my life to you this day — ready to start over.
Help me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind and strength,
now and forever.