The Joy of Forgiveness

You know the feeling. You have sinned against someone in thought or deed and you're trying not to think about it, but it won't leave you alone. Maybe it was losing your temper, gossiping, pornograpy or adultery. Perhaps your sin was directly against the Lord. You make excuses thinking it wasn't that bad, or everyone does this from time to time, but it won't leave you alone. The bottom line is that any sin done to anyone is a direct violation against the Lord's statutes.

David experienced the same thing. In Psalm 32, he describes how his sin affected him. He said his bones grew old and he groaned all day long. He felt the hand of the Lord heavy upon him. His vitality was gone and felt more like the drought of summer (v. 3-4). Then he confesses his sin to the Lord and the Lord forgave him (v. 5).

There is restoration and a feeling of joy when we confess our sin to the Lord knowing He will and does forgive us of all our sin (1 John 1:9). It is in this feeling of joy and knowing forgiveness, that David writes "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit" (Psalm 32:4).

If we are in Christ we know our sin has been forgiven - past, present and future. Yet, because we live in these bodies of original sin we still struggle with sin and will until we go to be with Him in glory. If you find that unconfessed sin is weighing heavily upon you today, do not let the day pass without confessing your sin to Him. If there is confession to be made to someone you have sinned against, seek the Lord's guidance for an appropriate way to do so. There is restoration and joy in the forgiveness of sin.