04 May 2007 Devotion for Today “What To Do About Mistakes” Psalm 31:5-10
The old idiom says that “to err is human, but to forgive, divine.” Most all of us can admit to making mistakes- even sinful mistakes, at times. But insidiously the statement gives the impression that it really doesn’t matter, and that we should all accept the mistakes because no one is perfect. It is true that only God is perfect, and that we all make mistakes. But does that mean that our behavior is acceptable? It is neither acceptable to God nor to ourselves. Its not enough to say that we make mistakes. The larger question ought to be, “when I make a mistake, what should I do about it?”
Psalm 31 tells us:
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.
6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
I trust in the LORD.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.
8 You have not handed me over to the enemy
but have set my feet in a spacious place.
This Psalm must have been written by David after he had made a bunch of mistakes. He is very depressed because mistakes tend to hem you in, and you are not sure what to do about them. So David pours out his heart and says:. VS. 5 - "Into your hands I commit my spirit." Those are familiar words. We have heard them before, because Jesus uttered them on the cross- not because He made any mistakes, but because He had all the mistakes and sins of the world placed upon Himself.
Here is the point. There comes a time in life when we are so backed into corners - mistakes have hemmed us in, and sins have resulted from those mistakes - that there is no place to go, and there is nothing else we can do except to commit them to the Lord. Like Jesus, weighted down with all the sins of the world, there is nothing else to do but say, "Lord, I commit my soul unto you!" There comes that point when we must turn to God for His almighty strength and His forgiveness. Do you hear what David is saying in verses 9-10? He is saying, " Here are all the sins that I have committed. I can fool the rest of the world, but I can’t fool you, Lord. So here it all is."
God sees all the filth, the immorality, the selfishness, and the covetousness in the life of David, but He doesn’t say, "Well, that’s all for you, David. If that is what you really are like inside, then you are no longer my chosen person. I don’t want anything more to do with you." But in vs. 8, David says that God didn’t do that. Instead He places David’s feet In a “wide space.”
There are times when our sins can make us clausterphobic. But when we are forgiven, God opens things up around us and causes us to move and breathe freely.
I once read a bumper sticker that proclaimed, "Christians aren’t perfect - just forgiven.’ I like that, and it says what I am trying to say this morning. We are not perfect - just forgiven. Despite all the mistakes we make - and all the things we do wrong - and all the times we stumble and fall and mess up - God still says, "Come back again. I want to forgive you."
Have a blessed day!
Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@earthlink.net
jcrussell@liberty.edu
Church website: http://25621.lifewaylink.com
Devotion Archives: http://www.msnusers.com/DevotionforToday
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