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.

 

Ready, Fire, Aim!

1 Peter 4:7-11

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%204%3A7-11&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

Peter was a “ready, fire, aim” kinda’ guy. He acted before he thought. He spoke before he considered the consequences. After all, he was a man’s man who lived by his actions, not by thoughtful introspection.

 

During the three years of Jesus’ ministry, Peter would often say what the other disciples were only thinking. He seemed to have no resistors to prevent whatever thought was going through his mind, from coming out of his mouth. The result was that Peter would find himself sticking his foot in his mouth.

 

But Peter was also a leader, and he genuinely loved Christ. He had many gifts and Jesus saw this. So as Jesus was preparing for his death and resurrection, he asked Peter, “Do you love me”? Jesus was putting Peter in charge, not that Peter seemed to need this; he took charge regardless. But something changed after this.

 

Instead of speaking or acting without thinking, he gave thoughtful consideration. Peter wrote this letter to believers who were under great pressure of persecution. They needed every insight, every teaching, every encouragement that they could get.

 

One thing Peter had learned was, you can’t make it on your own. You need others to support and encourage you. He had lived his life as a self-made man who ran a competitive business that depended on his skills, experience and immediate action. He had relied on himself to survive.

 

But he had changed. And when he changed, he knew the importance of teamwork; of family; of friendship; of being a body of believers. He knew the importance of trust and faith in others. He knew the importance of relying on others.

 

¹⁰ God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. ¹¹ Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. NLT

 

“Ready, fire, aim” was the old Peter. The new Peter was all about using his gifts in the service of the Lord, and encouraging others to do the same.

 

 

(You might also read Romans 12:4-8 & 1 Corinthians 12:7-11.)