Forgiven and Delivered
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Psalm 32:5,7
I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance.
What a comfort to read these words. God is so good, and so big, and so lovingly merciful we are only required to confess our sin to receive forgiveness. Really, we are forgiven even before we acknowledge it. Actually, we were forgiven before we even committed the sin, because God planned us and our lives long before the world began. Isn’t that amazing? Millions of years ago, God already forgave me for the sin I committed this morning. Wow. Just think about that for a minute.
God does even more than forgive us when we sin. He also protects us and covers us with His mercy as we resist temptation and trouble. He spreads His wings over us as a mother bird protects her young and keeps us from the storms of sin and evil in the world. It is only when we venture out, full of ourselves and confident in our own strength and ability that we are alone and away from that protection. That is when sin enters in.
Finally, we are surrounded with songs of deliverance. Music is truly the universal language, isn’t it? Two of my friends, on a mission trip to Central America several years ago said one morning it was their turn to plan the morning devotion for their group. As they sat and read scripture, talking together about what the devotion would be they heard a woman singing a song in Spanish. At first they couldn’t tell what it was, but as they listened, they recognized it as a familiar hymn from our own faith tradition. One lone voice on a hot summer morning in a place half a world away, allowed an entryway for the Holy Spirit in to their lives that day.
Each day I grasp more and more how huge God is; how old; how eternal; how grand and beautiful. It really is unspeakable to think of a world where the oceans roar against sand and volcanoes roar out fire and lava on a mountainside. And in the midst of it all He cared enough to make us. To place us as central and most precious of all creations He ever imagined. A little lower than the angels. That’s us! Forgiven. Loved. Cherished. Delivered.
My prayer today is that you will acknowledge your sin and iniquity before God. And that you relish the forgiveness and mercy He longs to share with you.
Mary
