Acknowledging God’s Love First
One of the great Psalms in the Bible is Psalm 51. David wrote these words when he realized, thanks to his friend the prophet Nathan, that he had really messed up and drifted away from God and into sin. Many people over the centuries have found that David’s words give expression to their own feelings of repentance and confession when they realize their own sin.
David begins the Psalm like this in verse 1: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.” (Psalm 51:1 NIV)
Approaching God: Embracing His Compassion Amidst Our Failures
I think it’s significant that David comes into God’s presence and immediately states that God is loving and compassionate. For many of us, we don’t do it this way. When we have sinned and drifted from God, we come back expecting Him to be an angry God. We imagine Him as a sort of cosmic policeman, peering around every corner to try catch us out, and we think that coming to Him with our sin will make Him rub His hands in glee as He looks forward to carrying out the punishment we deserve.
But David knew God intimately. Even though he had sinned here, he still knew God well, and he knew that God is filled with love and compassion.
He comes to God without downplaying his sin, as we’ll see later in the Psalm, but he comes to God on the basis of God’s character. Not his own.
When you’ve messed up and you know you stand guilty before God – go to Him! Don’t stay away, but go to Him like David did. And as you go, tell God clearly that you know He is a God of unfailing love, a God of mercy, a God of compassion.
Divine Longing: Embracing God's Mercy and Compassion
Start there!
I believe that God is less of a tyrannical policeman and more of a loving Father. He longs for His children to come home. I wonder if God is longing for you to come home today, but because you’ve been afraid, you’ve stayed away.
Hear the words of David and echo them in your own heart: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.”
The God of unfailing love and great compassion will meet you and restore you if you come to him humbly today.
