Surrounded

DEVOTION

PSALMS

SURROUNDED

Ps 32

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him 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 upon 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.   

6 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. 7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. 9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. 10 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.

11 Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

NIV

Why would we not want to confess our sin to the Lord? When we do, our sins are covered. They are covered by the blood of Jesus. When we confess our sin God no longer counts our sin against us. But what about this deceit? Do we attempt to hide our sin from God? Do we pretend that we have no sin to confess? That is just stupid. The whole idea of being blessed carries the meaning of being happy, satisfied, content, complete, fulfilled and in fellowship with God. If we keep silent, pretending we have nothing to confess our insides will waste away. We will live in our own groaning, we will feel our guilt, although we refuse to admit it. Because we know God, we will sense his heavy hand upon us because we are not willing to accept his forgiveness. But when we accept the fact we have sin, and when we fall short of perfection, like every day, and we ask the Lord to forgive our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive the guilt of our sin. Why would we try to hide from him? Why would we ever attempt to think we have no sin, in word, thought or deed? We have heard some believers actually say they do not sin in word, thought or deed. Who are they deceiving, God or themselves? It would seem both. We simply cannot hide from God. It does not matter how much we try, it is not possible.

Ps 139:7

7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

NIV

We will get the rest of this psalm some time later, it continues about all the places we cannot hide, even in the darkest of dark. We cannot hide from God, so why then would be stay silent? Have we become so tainted by sinful thought or even deed that we have become so accustomed to that kind of living we do not recognize it as sin? Maybe we make excuses for our humanity and simply accept the fact that is the way we are, so we do not confess it to God. The time to confess is now, each and every moment sin occurs within our inner most being. There is a time coming when confession will no longer be accepted. David saw it as when the mighty waters rise. It would seem he was thinking about Noah, the ark and the great flood. Noah had found favor in the eyes of God and he was saved from the flood. When the waters rose, the people knew then that God was God, but confession time had passed, they were going to perish, God had shut the door. Now is the time to confess, we are in the cross, we are in Christ, and we need to remain in fellowship with him for someday God is going to close the door again. We cannot assume we are safe, if we have unconfessed sin, if we are living with what we believe is an acceptable level of sin. God is our hiding place, we need to live in him continually, always aware of our failure and seeking his forgiveness. We do not need a bridle, for God will simply instruct us, giving us the truth of his word. When we listen to his voice, we know when we do something unacceptable and we confess it. When we listen to his voice we know when we are not doing something that is acceptable, when we are not obeying his call. No, we rejoice because he counsels us, he instructs us, he leads us in the path of righteousness for his name sake. The wicked are surrounded by troubles, but we are surrounded by the love of God.