-Do We Appreciate All That We Have?

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These words were written by David because of the guilt he felt after committing adultery with Bathsheba, and seeing to the death of her husband Uriah. His remorse was great, for he had sinned not only against this family, but against his nation and, most of all, his God. After Nathan confronted him with his sin, David acknowledged it, and accepted both the Lord’s forgiveness and punishment – the death of his child with Bathsheba.

The powerful words above tell us one of the results of sin. Even though we acknowledge our sins, until we move through the process of forgiveness, our sins will continue to haunt us. That’s what Psalm 51 is all about – David’s move from repentance, through restoration, to righteousness in God’s sight.

Even though we know we’re forgiven, practically speaking, the only way to come into the good of that forgiveness is to realize that only God can “create” in us a clean heart, “restore” in us the joy of our salvation, “deliver” us from guilt, establish in us again “a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart” able to offer sacrifices of righteousness to Him, and “open” our lips again to sing His praises (Ps. 51:10-17).

While David records the steps of the restorative process in Psalm 51, it’s good for us to remember that we have much more than he had. David could only look forward to the cross when he called upon “the God of my salvation” (v. 14) for deliverance. Today, we have the full knowledge that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). We have been “justified” by His blood, “reconciled” through His death, and “saved” by His life, so that we can “rejoice” (Rom. 5:9-11) that our sin is forever behind us, rather than “always before” us. The question is: “Do we appreciate all that we have?”

By Larry Ondrejack

 

With permission to publish by: Sam Hadley, Grace & Truth, 210 Chestnut St., Danville, IL., USA. Website: www.gtpress.org

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