Daily Devotion – March 24, 2022 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison

Psalm 32
32:1 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
32:2 Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
32:3 While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
32:4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
32:6 Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.
32:7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah
32:8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
32:9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you.
32:10 Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.
32:11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

A psalm for letting ourselves confess our troubles and our wrongs.

The psalmist says that when s/he was silent and didn’t admit trouble, bad behavior, or wickedness, s/he just wasted away all day long, almost withering into nothingness. When you bear a heavy burden of guilt or sadness or worry, you get very tired. After awhile you are running on empty. You can’t even wake up properly in the morning.

But the day that the psalmist admitted her/his troubles to God and received God’s forgiveness, s/he was happy once again. The prevailing emotion was deliverance and gladness.

Can we trust the Lord, the way the psalmist does? Can we consider ourselves “teachable”? Can we learn or remember God’s forgiving ways that keep us in relationship to God?

Let’s try it this week, not hiding things or bearing them alone, but climbing up into the big chair with our loving father, God, and telling God everything. I wonder what we will discover.

Gracious Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Help us to trust you with our shortcomings, our burdens, and whatever is keeping us silent and apart from you. Be our loving parent and help us.  Amen.