Have mercy on me, O God, because of Your unfailing love. Have mercy on me, O God, because I fail you every day, but Your love never fails. Because of your great compassion, wipe out every trace of sins. Wash me thoroughly and repeatedly from all my missteps, poor choices, and the guilt from them. Cleanse me and make me wholly pure from my sin.
Have you considered praying like this? A king who took a married woman under the force of his position then had her husband killed felt this overwhelming need, this pressing desire for the Creator’s mercy and compassion, knowing that God would give it. We should understand the same.
No matter what we have done, said, or thought, our Heavenly Father offers us forgiveness. Now, don’t make the mistake of thinking you can do that same thing over and over. Even in this incident, King David received harsh consequences. Had he repeated this choice again and again, his consequences would have grown harsher. We can’t expect differently.
How do we know what to confess? David had to be reminded by Nathan that his choices were wrong against Bathsheba, Uriah, and God Himself. We who are believers have the Holy Spirit who reminds us when we make the choice to sin. He notifies us when we’ve crossed the line out of God’s will into following our own.
How gracious is our Lord to offer this same mercy, grace, and compassion David sought!
Are you living in a place of turmoil because you have done something you know was wrong? The very choice to do it was outside God’s will? Don’t linger in the guilt and shame, my friend. Turn back to God. Agree with him about what was done and allow Him to cleanse you of all unrighteousness.
His cleansing is real and forever. His purification is complete. All that is required of you is turning away from that sin to God.
Believers, we can revel in the realization that our Savior offers this kind of purification to us, this compassion and mercy that is beyond our comprehension. We must be careful that we don’t choose to sin again and again just to experience this. We have this love and mercy every day. Turning to sin to experience it is not what He wants for us. Instead, we can walk in this truth with our heads held high, sharing the story of where we’ve been and what we’ve done so that others will be able to receive the same.
Let’s confess and repent today. Let’s look to the Savior and see His love for us. Let’s realize that in Him there is no condemnation, only forgiveness and restoration. No need to put it off. He’s waiting. Are you ready?
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
