What is the worst thing you have ever done?

A Series from the Psalms on “Disappointment with God”

Psalm 38

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2038&version=NIV;NLT

  

In preparing for this devotional, I ran across a You Tube video where 100 people answered the question, “What is the worst thing you have ever done”? How would you answer that question?

 

For myself, I made a short list at first; but the more I thought about it, the longer my list got. Apparently, David could have made his own list.

…my health is broken because of my sins.
My guilt overwhelms me…
My wounds fester and stink…
I am bent over and racked with pain…
A raging fever burns within me…
I am exhausted and completely crushed…       Psalm 38:3-8 NLT

 

Sin has consequences! For David, it resulted in an illness that sounds like a catastrophic combination of a severe open infection, the H1N1 flu pandemic of 1918 and intense stomach cramps, no doubt resulting in repeated trips to the bathroom.

 

In reality, we are all sick like David. Maybe our sin doesn’t result in physical illness, but there’s no doubt that we are sick. It’s a sickness that alienates us from our Heavenly Father, and ultimately leads to death. It’s a sickness that only Jesus can heal.

 

In his own words, David was a broken man; he had reached the bottom; there was no place else for him to turn. His life was out of control; so he cried out to the Lord in disappointment and desperation.

 

¹⁵ Lord, the only thing I can do is wait and put my hope in you.
I wait for your help, my God.

¹⁸ I confess all my sin to you; I can’t hold it in any longer.
My agonizing thoughts punish me for my wrongdoing;
I feel condemned as I consider all I’ve done.    

²² God, hurry to help me, run to my rescue!
For you are my Savior and my only hope!        TPT

Have you reached the bottom? Are you at the point where you are ready to turn away from your sin? Is it time for you to cry out to the Lord? There’s no better time than now. And He’s waiting to listen to you.

 

It's Confession Time

Colossians 3:12-17

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians%203%3A12-17&version=NIV;NLT

 

Do you notice anything unusual about this picture? Does anything look out of place? What about the grill? Aren’t grills normally on your deck in the back of the house? But this one is on the patio in the front of a condo…. my condo.

 

For the past nine years our grill has been on the deck in the back until this year when we received a notice from our condo board that there is a state law that you can’t do that. Who would’ve thunk it? In order to comply, we moved our grill to the front patio. Problem solved right? Wrong!

 

About a month ago we received a “First Notice for Rule Enforcement” from the condo board stating that our grill was on “common property” and therefore, according to the By-Laws, must be removed immediately. Even though this is a confession, I won’t share my initial, uncensored reaction when I read this notice at the end of a long day at work.

 

Eventually, after calming down and thinking rationally, I composed what I thought was a well-reasoned and thought out letter signed by my wife and myself. It explained why we disagreed with the board’s position and backed it up with the condo By-Laws.

 

That should have been good enough for me to put this matter in the past; but it wasn’t. My anger and resentment kept poking its ugly head up from beneath the surface. Then this week, in preparation of writing this devotional, I read my verses.

 

¹² Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.           NLT

 

Darn! There are so many times it would be much easier to not be a Christian; to not have to follow Christ. I would much rather be angry and unforgiving. I prefer to justify my actions because of some perceived wrong. It’s so much easier to be angry because people don’t live up to my expectations. Then came the dagger.

 

¹⁷ And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.  NLT

 

It’s confession time. Do you feel convicted after reading these verses? I do. As a result, although I’m not sure what we will do about our grill, I most certainly need to change my attitude and to represent the Lord well.