READING: Psalms 37-40, Romans 7:1-8:11
I read these words from the psalmist today, and all I can first think of are times when my ongoing sin just ate at my core . . . when conviction was so great that I could neither sleep nor eat. Maybe you’ve experienced times like these:
For my iniquities have flooded over my head;
they are a burden too heavy for me to bear.
My wounds are foul and festering
because of my foolishness.
I am bent over and brought very low;
all day long I go around in mourning.
For my insides are full of burning pain,
and there is no soundness in my body.
I am faint and severely crushed;
I groan because of the anguish of my heart. (Psa 38:4-8)
The psalmist suffered physically because of his sin. It is fair to say that not all suffering is the direct result of one’s sin, but the psalmist undeniably connects the two in this psalm. Read the words again, and you’ll hear an overwhelmed, guilty, hurting person. All of this weight for his wrong was just too heavy to bear. He could offer nothing to God; all he could do was confess his sin and wait on the Lord. After all, he still knew God was his Lord and Savior (Psa 38:22), and he had trust that God would not forsake him.
Today, if sin has you “bent over and brought very low,” run to the Savior. He alone is our hope.
PRAYER: Pray the prayer of the psalmist today: “For I put my hope in you, Lord; you will answer me, my Lord, my God” (Psa 38:15)
DAILY ACTION STEP: Accept God’s gracious forgiveness for your sin.
TOMORROW’S READING: Psalms 41-46, Romans 8:12-39
