“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgression, wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” Psalm 51:1-2 This is the start of one of my favorite Psalms. King David was confronted by the prophet Nathan after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Nathan was like an accountability partner or recovery coach sent by God to walk alongside the king. David was the king and no one questions the king. Have you ever gotten defensive with someone questioning your integrity or actions? I know I have, I had blinders and ear plugs in for so long it hurt everyone around me. I was king and no one was going to question how I ran my kingdom. Oh how foolish I was, if only I had a Nathan in my life and if only I would have listened when he did question me. Repentance is the 1st key to having God recover you. Not remorse, not feeling bad, but a true from the heart repentance. Like David prayed in this 51st Psalm.
“For I was born a sinner, yes from the moment my mother conceived me, but you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there." Psalm 51:5-5 If we do not admit or repent of our sins we will be burdened by guilt, shame and we will have no joy. If we learn to do this on a regular basis either by having a Nathan in our life or by a searching inventory of our past sins we will struggle to grow. We can’t go to the altar and talk to God unless we have been made clean. David goes on to pray.
“Purify me from my sins and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7 When was the last time you spoke to God like this? The last time you poured out your heart to the one who made it? To repent is to completely turn in the opposite direction, to do a 180 degree turn and go a new way. Lord, remove the obsession to drink, to drug, to lust, to get angry with sin. True repentance means the next time I do what I don’t want to do it hurts me so much because I know that it does not please God. Repentance is not doing what the king wants to do, saying a little prayer then doing what the king wants to do again tomorrow. Repentance is learning to do what the King of Kings and Lord of Lords would do in this situation. “You do not desire a sacrifice or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart O God”. Psalm 51:16-17 Jesus taught that “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Matthew 5:4. God is not looking for how we try, He wants us to mourn over our sins and admit our brokenness. Then He will not ignore our needs but will forgive us, comfort us and cleanse us. Once we are clean we are ready for a relationship. We are ready to continue the journey to be recovered by God.
By: Bill A. Gaspard, Life Recovery Coach
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