Week 11: Being Transparent Before the Lord

This week's Scripture readings unfold like this:

* Sunday (Epistles): 1 Corinthians 5-6
* Monday (The Law): Genesis 40-43
* Tuesday (History): 1 Samuel 1-5
* Wednesday (Psalms): Psalms 30-32
* Thursday (Poetry): Job 21-22
* Friday (Prophecy): Isaiah 56-61
* Saturday (Gospels): Mark 1-2

We cover a lot of ground here! Yet one unifying theme that stands at the heart of this week's readings is Psalm 32, which occurs right in the middle of the week. It speaks to the relational complexities between friends and family members, as seen in the readings from the epistles, the law, and poetry...and the alienation that stands between human beings and God, as seen in readings from history, Psalms, prophecy, and the Gospels.

Scripture
Psalm 32 begins with the soul-freeing declaration:
Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one
whose sin the LORD does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.

But as we see next, this joyous sense of fellowship with God came only after a bitter struggle to hide from God:
When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.

In other words, David recounts the heaviness he felt before he confessed his sins to God.

Scripture attests elsewhere that "when we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

That's exactly what happened to David when he finally gave in to God:
Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.

Observation
We human beings tend to run from God during the times in which we should be drawing ever closer to him. It happened in the Garden of Eden when the first man and woman disobeyed God and discovered that they were naked. They felt shame and hid from God when they heard him approaching.

It's that same sense of shame that induces us to run from God when we need his help the most. But what we see in Psalm 32 is that God is quick to forgive us when we open up to him.

Application
As we work through the assorted Scripture readings this week, we will encounter human brokenness in a variety of forms. As we do so, let's ask ourselves what things may be at work in our own lives that are keeping us from enjoying the fullness of a relationship with God and each other. Then, let's resist the temptation to hide from God. As David wrote, "...let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found" (Psalm 32:6).

Prayer
O Lord, you've promised to draw near to us when we draw near to you. You've given us your assurances that you will never leave us or forsake us. You have done everything to atone for our sins. And now, Lord Jesus, you are in heaven interceding for our every transgression. Still, in light of all that, we let shame get the best of us. We run and hide from you like our primordial parents did. Embolden us to seek you when every instinct tells us to flee. Strengthen us by your Spirit to draw near to you in our time of need. And, like David, put your song of forgiveness and joy in our hearts. Amen!

Have a great week!

Faithfully,
Chuck