Psalm 32

Jun 7, 2022

Oh what joy for those

Whose disobedience is forgiven.

Whose sin is put out of sight!

- King David, Psalm 32:1

"I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb… and I'm not blonde either."

- Dolly Parton

"No matter how many times I read that I'm forgiven," he said, "I just don't feel like it. I know the Bible tells me that Jesus paid the price of all my sins on that cross, but I still feel guilt in my heart." Ever feel like that?

In Psalm 32, King David knows that God has forgiven him for his disobedience, but he still feels guilty. He believes, in his head, that he's forgiven… he just does not feel it in his heart. What's the problem? Well, the problem certainly is not from God's side of the equation. David declares...

Oh what Joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven,

Whose sin is put out of sight!

Yes, what Joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,

Whose lives are lived in complete honesty!

- Psalm 32:1-2

David knows that guilt comes from being separated from God and that that guilt is removed by being reconciled to God. 800 years later, St. Paul said it like this...

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

- Romans 7:1

God declares us "Not Guilty" when we accept the forgiveness Jesus purchased for us on the Cross. So, from God's side, we are forgiven! Which means the problem must be from my side of the equation. If I don't feel forgiven, there must be something in my heart that's blocking me from feeling the forgiveness God gave me in Jesus. 1 John 3:20 actually says that our own hearts can condemn us even when God does not. So what is the problem in David's heart that prevented him from feeling God's forgiveness? Check it out. David writes:

When I refused to Confess my sin, my body wasted away,

and I groaned all day long.

Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me,

My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.

Finally, I Confessed all my sins to You and stopped trying to hide my guilt.

I said to myself, “I will Confess my rebellion to the LORD.”

And You forgave me! All my guilt is gone.

- Psalm 32:3-5

It's not just swallowing too much unhealthy food that can torpedo your heart… swallowing your sins can have disastrous heart results as well. Unconfessed sins block the human heart from feeling God's forgiveness! One of the healthiest heart choices you can make is to confess your failures to God and accept His forgiveness for them. “Confession” means, “To agree with the truth.” Confessing involves taking a risk to “own” the negative parts of ourselves and to share those with someone we trust… beginning with Jesus.

Listen… the happiest people I know, they aren't perfect people. They're forgiven people, people who know in their head and their heart that they are forgiven because, when they fail, they confess their failures to Jesus and experience a fresh sense of being re-connected to a Holy God through Jesus His Son! If guilt has the edge over grace in your life today… stop groaning under the weight of that hidden sin.