I Repented of My Sin and Won the Victory!

Psalm 32:1-5

English Standard Version (ESV)

A Maskil^[a] of David.

32 ^(A)Blessed is the one whose ^(B)transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
² Blessed is the man against whom the Lord ^(C)counts no iniquity,
    and in whose spirit ^(D)there is no deceit.

³ For when I kept silent, my ^(E)bones wasted away
    through my ^(F)groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night your ^(G)hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up^[b] as by the heat of summer. Selah

⁵ I ^(H)acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I ^(I)will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2032:%201%20-%205&version=ESV)

The old song, “Victory in Jesus”, my favorite song of all time, I hope it is sung at my funeral someday.  If you sing all the verses of this song (some hymnals don’t have all the verses), the Gospel message is clearly stated.  The verses Psalm that we read today also tell the Gospel story, although it was many years before Christ that David wrote these words.  At the time of this writing the sacrifice was an animal and there were certain rituals you followed to be forgiven, yet it was not the ritual that saved you. It was not the slaying of the lamb that caused you to be blessed, it was the repentance of your sin and so it is today.  The slayed lamb was the pathway to the Father but if you slay the lamb without repentance it is only a slayed lamb.

Without repentance of our sins, Christ sacrifice on the cross means nothing.  He died for those who recognize their sins and cling to Him.  If we truly want to be blessed we must repent.  If we truly want Christ to reign in our lives we must repent.  Have you ever gone to the Father and repented of your sins?  If not, I highly recommend it.  For me there is a cleansing feeling that comes over me when I repent and know that He has forgiven me.  Even as Christians we stumble in this world.  Although we may live our lives in a manner that is worthy of the calling in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 4:1), there are times that we blatantly sin against our Father.  We tell a justifiable lie, we seek vengeance, we have bad thoughts toward another, we forget to put God first and strive for status in this world, the list goes on.  When we recognize that sin and repent of it, God will bless us.  David, a man after God’s own heart, recognized that and confesses.  Even though he knew God personally, he lied, he committed adultery, he murdered, and that is just what was recorded.  One thing is for sure though, he repented.  He knew who his Father was and where his strength came from and he repented.  He was blessed for it and so can we be blessed when we repent.

Just yesterday several people in my Bible study prayed that God would bless me.  You know what?  He already has.  How?  By forgiving me of my sins, both now and in the future.  Because I have confessed He has blessed me.  But, I must continue to repent when I fall short, in order to have a blessing from the High Priest, Jesus Christ.  As you go about your day today, thank the Lord for the blessing of forgiveness and thank Him for the opportunity to confess.  We might as well confess because He already knows and He is waiting to bless us. 

Seek Him and know His ways that you may walk in His path and repent of your sins and be glad.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila