SEEK DEVOTIONAL

I believe one aspect of the Bible that is incredibly powerful, that points to the validity of Scripture, is that it does not shy away from clearly showing us the shortcomings and failures of even the most famous and beloved characters in the biblical narrative.

When I read the Bible, I can’t help but laugh at Peter’s many nonsensical and hardheaded decisions. I am in awe that the apostle Paul would label himself the “chief of sinners.” And I am brokenhearted by King David(the man after God’s own heart)making the horrific decisions to misuse his royal authority to sleep with Bathsheba and have her husband killed.

Psalm 51 is David’s breaking point after the prophet Nathan confronts him over this sin. It is a visceral look at a man who realizes he has been his own worst enemy and is now totally broken before God. This is not a man who is merely upset that he was caught, nor is he making excuses to sidestep responsibility. This is godly sorrow over sin committed against a holy God.

2 Corinthians 7:10 describes it beautifully:

For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

Using this verse, let’s contrast worldly sorrow and godly sorrow plainly:

Worldly Sorrow → Defined by regret → Leads to death
Godly Sorrow → Defined by repentance → Leads to salvation

Worldly sorrow will try to push you away from God through a dance set to the rhythm of shame and condemnation, or self-preservation and pride. It is dangerous for your soul to dance with worldly sorrow.

Godly sorrow, however, is a beautiful work of the Holy Spirit that kindly draws us away from our sin so we can receive cleansing and forgiveness in the presence of the Lord. See Romans 2:4:

“Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”

It is not fun or popular to talk about repentance, but believe it or not, in modern society we still need to repent when we have sinned. The call of John the Baptist to “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” still resounds true today.

So whether you find yourself having made the same kind of colossal and compounding sins that David made, or you simply had a moment of weakness and succumbed to temptation, your Father is calling you to lay down your sin, not to cover it and hide like Adam and Eve did.

How wonderful it is that King David’s story does not end with this moment of failure. There were consequences for his actions, but the man after God’s own heart received forgiveness and restoration when he fully repented before God.

The beauty is that people like Peter, who denied Christ three times; Paul, who murdered and terrorized Christians; you and I can all find forgiveness at the foot of the cross when we turn from our sin.

Prayer:
If there is sin you need to repent of, reread Psalm 51 as a prayer of repentance for yourself. As you do, may the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus meet you, cleanse you, and bring you forgiveness and peace.