When Our Sin Strikes - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 38:3-4,

"... there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin. My guilt has
overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear."

In this psalm David cries out to the Lord in his anguish because of
his sin. He makes other comments in this psalm, "I am feeble and
utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart." Verse 8. "For I am
about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. I confess my iniquity; I
am troubled by my sin." Verses 17-18.

David looked to Lord for relief from the inner turmoil he experienced
from his sin. He closes this psalm with the follow words, "Lord, do
not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God. Come quickly to help
me, my Lord and my Savior." Verses 21-22.

Although David lived a millennium before the Holy Spirit began to be
given freely to all who place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ
(following the Pentecost event in Acts 2), he nevertheless was indwelt
with the Holy Spirit as one of the great heroes of faith in the Old
Testament. David refers to the indwelling Holy Spirit in Psalm 51:11.

Paul speaks of the inner conflict between our sinful natures and the
Holy Spirit that indwells all believers since Pentecost. "For the
flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is
contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that
you are not to do whatever you want." Galatians 5:17.

While believers will never be free from that sinful nature in this
life, succumbing to its promptings can have devastating consequences
for us. I have known of those who have even suffered mentally as well
as emotionally because of poor decisions in regard to a past sin.
David certainly exhibits that kind of consequence in his own life as
he calls out to God in desperation.

The good news is that although we retain that old nature when we are
born again, we are now no longer enslaved to it. Paul says of
believers, "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to
righteousness." Romans 6:18. While we struggle with the enticement of
our sinful natures, the Lord promises us a way out, "No temptation has
overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful;
he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you
are tempted,he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."
1 Corinthians 10:13.

For any of us who may have found ourselves in David's plight following
some sin we have slipped into, we need to recognize that all sin has
already been paid for by Jesus Christ on that cross. And, while we
recognize that it was sin that prompted him to die on that miserable
cross, we need to embrace the love of our Lord, get up, dust ourselves
off and and recognize the truth that the Apostle John spoke of, "My
dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if
anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ,
the Righteous One." 1 John 2:1.

We all may fail from time to time, disappoint ourselves and the Lord
and possibly others. When that occurs, we need to be mindful that the
last thing we need to be is stuck in the morass of failure and find
ourselves unproductive and useless to the Lord as he pursues the
building of his kingdom today.

Ask the Lord's forgiveness, and the forgiveness of any others as
necessary, slip back into the harness of the gospel effort and get
back to pulling our fair share of the load. We don't need victims
here, we need healthy and equipped workers!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here:
http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send
me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are
receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply
and let me know..