If you have felt weighted down by the guilt of sin, and I know you have because we all have been at one time or another, then this devotion and its message should be of comfort to you. King David, a man after God’s own heart, dealt with the heavy burden of sin throughout periods of his life, and from the words of Holy Scripture this was an extremely difficult load for him to bear in those moments. Yet, he was also able to enjoy the wonderful gift of the forgiveness of his sins as He confessed those sins and called on God to have mercy on him and lift the condemnation of those sins that he was facing.
In Psalm 32 David expresses what it means for a person to have to bear the weight of one’s sins. Yet, he also shares to great relief and joy when those sins are forgiven and a right relationship with the Lord is restored. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, who sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones waisted away through groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not cover up my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” 32:1-5
I hope you can sense the great relief David feels as he comes before his merciful and forgiving Lord, knowing that He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love! Even though we like David are sinful human beings, we have a God who desires to cleanse us from all sins and fill us with His righteousness, the perfect righteousness of Christ. For it is in Jesus alone where we can fully experience the freedom from the bondage of sin and the blessed joy of our salvation.
May you and I not allow the devil to hold our sins over us and ruin the abundant life Jesus made available to us in His victory of sin, death, and the devil. Let us drop the load of quilt you and I might be carrying because Jesus took it on Himself when He went to the cross on our behalf! Thank you, Jesus, for bearing the weight of our transgressions. Pastor McCarty