Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. Ps 51:2 (NLT)
Have you ever been caught out doing something wrong? A tangled mess of emotions all come out at once… for me, apology and guilt spill out from me and go all over the place. It's not pretty. Ha!
This is what happened to David… This Psalm is an outpouring of emotion after Nathan confronted him over his affair with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. David wasn’t sorry only because he was caught. Sin eats away at us all, no one can escape from its destructive nature. It's like eating bad food – it may taste good, but it kills you from the inside out.
David had given in to his impulses at the expense of others. He had sinned, and the sin was hurtful not only to himself, but to those around him, perhaps even the whole Kingdom. I’ve had discussions with people around this, and some have felt disappointed that David didn’t confess prior to Nathan’s word of knowledge over his actions. He had done all he could to hide his sins and minimise his personal consequences, but David had exhausted every avenue and Nathan's confrontation broke him. He took the accusation, confessed, and repented. At that moment, he owned his sins, and God owned his redemption.
Sometimes getting caught out is like being thrown a lifeline. We’re flailing around in stormy seas being drowned by the circumstances we have gotten ourselves into and someone calls us on our bad choices by throwing us a rope to pull ourselves to shore. A wake up call, a cold bucket of water, the light turning on.
And God in all His mercy, grace and compassion will never turn away a repentant heart. He has the capacity and energy to make all things new and to wash us as white as snow.
This Psalm is a heart wrenching and beautiful portrait of a sin torn soul on its way back to a restorative God. Don’t let your bad choices and the fallout of them keep you from God. He will clean you up and help you walk the road of restoration.
If you’re in the middle of a mess today, don’t hide, don’t flee… own up to it. Let your confession open up the way to healing for your life and others.
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