Put it Down, October 1, 2011

to respond: go to your journal page in https://docs.google.com/

Written by Neal Bowes

Saturday, October 1

Psalm 32:1-5 ¹ Blessed are those
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.

² Blessed are those
whose sin the LORD does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.

³ When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.

⁴ For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.

⁵ 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.

Want to try an experiment? The next time you're in the grocery store, go to the baked goods aisle and pick up a ten pound bag of flour. Then, carry it through the store as you do the rest of the shopping. Don't put it in the cart. Carry it.

Ten pounds doesn't sound like a whole lot of weight, but after a while, it'll get heavy. Then, it'll get really heavy. Soon, you'll really want to put it down. And when you do, it'll feel good.

That's the same sort of thing David is talking about in the Psalm. When we sin, we start to carry around a burden. It might be guilt or shame. Or maybe we've had an argument with somebody and we're carrying around a grudge. It takes a lot of energy to carry around these burdens. At first it doesn't seem like a big deal, but eventually, it wears us down.

Confession, David says, is like putting down that big bag of flour. It really feels good to let go of these burdens and allow God to heal us and comfort us.

In your prayer time today, confess your sins and lay down your burdens.