Verse: Psalm 32:1-5
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the one 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.
Devotion
Sin is not something we like to talk about. And that's the problem. Because of shame, pride, embarrassment, fear, and a host of other reasons, we tend to keep our sins to ourselves. And then we suffer the consequences. David aptly describes how it feels to try and keep sin to yourself. "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away," "my strength was sapped," and "your hand was heavy on me." The hand of God here is his conviction, urging David (and us) towards acknowledgement and confession.
How does David find freedom? The same way we do: admitting our sin to God and others. Confession starts with God of course. And God's forgiveness is complete. Blessed are we whose sins are forgiven and covered! Confession often also includes others. There is healing in confessing our sins to other believers and having them pray for us (James 5:16).
So the encouragement is clear: you don't have to handle your sin by yourself. In fact, you shouldn't. It's too easy to believe the lie that no one will understand, that God can't forgive this, that God doesn't love me, or any other host of lies that keep us from finding relief from his forgiveness. What's amazing is that David wrote this BEFORE Jesus died and rose again. Jesus completely paid for our total forgiveness. There is no room for condemnation and shame. So don't hide your sin. Don't allow it to fester in shame and self loathing. Confess it to God, and find a trusted Christian friend/mentor. God has freedom and healing for each of us.