“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” – Psalm 51:10
The Lent season just past was an opportunity for me to spend time meditating on sin and confession. In the course of my reflection, I realised that I have sometimes disregarded the gravity of sin by uttering the standard confessional liturgy, without truly meaning the words in my heart.
Having suffered the negative effects of his adulterous act with Bathsheba, David writes about the tragic consequences of sin in Psalm 51. Sin is more than just a wrong act; it defiles our hearts, which is the very source of life and affects our whole being.
Sin robs us of joy and gladness (v. 8a, 12), and causes us to experience heaviness and sorrow. We cannot worship God freely when we are weighed down by guilt and our emotional energies are drained. It affects our physical health (v. 8b) as fatigue and sickness may result as our bodies cope with the emotional and mental toll of sin.
Sin also affects our fellowship with God (v. 11). When we sin, we lose the intimacy we share with God. Our broken fellowship leaves us disconnected from God, the source and enabler of our Christian life and walk. A believer’s personal life is a powerful witness for God (v. 14-15) and sin cripples our witness.
David’s prayer in Psalm 51 is also a cry for change. He wishes to get out of the mess that sin creates and desires to restore his fellowship with God, and live with joy and delight.
Solomon writes in Proverbs 28:13, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” Confession is God’s redemptive grace to us to return to and get right with Him. To confess is to acknowledge we have sinned by God’s holy standards.
We do not confess out of the fear of being exposed and shamed, for it is futile to think we can hide from our all-knowing God. We can however, draw upon the grace of our forgiving God to return to fellowship with Him, “You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.” – Psalm 86:5
As we grieve over our sin, let us come to the Lord with a broken spirit and contrite heart. Confession must be accompanied by repentance – a heartfelt sorrow for our sin, and followed by a sincere commitment to turn from sin and walk in obedience to God. My encouragement to all of us is that, as we trust and obey the Lord, we experience great joy and gladness that comes from being in deep relationship with Him.
“Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.” – Psalm 51:8
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