“Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me.
“For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me.” (Psalm 40:11-12)
Whoa! Was that an octave change? Did David’s song about the great goodness of God just hit some minor notes? He’s seriously shifted gears from praising God to asking God for help to pointing out what a big sinner he is.
It shouldn’t surprise us. When you look deeply into the goodness of God, when you really force yourself to dwell on just how kind and intensely generous he is, you eventually start to notice the enormous contrast between his goodness and your own lack of it.
David felt very aware of his sinful choices. He uses the language of illness to describe his shame: I can’t see; my heart fails. He begs his good God for mercy and help to escape the consequences of his sin.
Think: Does participating in the worship of God ever make you more aware of your own sinful choices? Do you ever feel the desire to confess your sin to God and ask for his help in overcoming it?
Pray: Ask God to let his goodness provoke you to confess to him your lack of goodness and then thank him for forgiving your sin through your faith in Jesus’ death in your place on the cross.
Do: Look for contrasts and similarities this week between God’s character and yours.