Broken is Good

It is hard for me to say which Psalm is my favorite but Psalm 51 ranks pretty high on my list. It can be used almost word for word as a prayer to the Lord when dealing with sin in our lives. Usually we think of David and his horrendous sin with Bathsheba and having Uriah killed when we read this Psalm, and rightly so. He probably wrote this after he spent quite some time trying to avoid his sin until the prophet Nathan came to him to show him his sin.

All sin is an abomination to the Lord. We often want to rate or place sin in the better or worse category. We may not have committed adultery or had someone killed but we sin in word and deed daily. This Psalm is such a clear picture of the forgiveness of the Lord and the restoration of His salvation to us. Restoration doesn't mean He takes it away and gives it back, but sin causes us to break fellowship with Him and there is a need to be restored. Verse 17 says "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart - these, O God, You will not despise."

Broken is good. When we are broken by our sin, our hearts are truly feeling the pain and sorrow of our sin before the Lord. He loves it when we are in this place. We can sacrifice our time and money to serve Him but if we do not have a broken and a contrite heart these sacrifices mean nothing to Him.

At your next opportunity read and pray through Psalm 51 and be reminded of your sin, your need for forgiveness and the joy of the Lord's restoration to you.