“Turn
Yourself to me and have mercy on me, for I am desolate and afflicted. The
troubles of my heart have enlarged; bring me out of my distresses! Look
on my affliction and my pain, and forgive my sins” (Psalm
25:16-18).
Imagine
a world in which we worry more about evaluating our own sins (and notice how we
are inclined to ask for mercy!), and stop worrying so much about the sins of
others (whom we eagerly condemn!); a world in which life bears down on us and
we seek mercy rather than someone to blame.
Such
introspection seems overbearing and sometimes needless – after all, why worry
when we are already redeemed/saved/justified (pick your word)? Yet even
as we seek sanctification (spiritual perfection in which we become more Christ-like
with each passing day), we must always be on guard against our human impulses;
those impulses that allow us to ignore the needs of others in favor of our own
desires and demands, those times when it is much easier to withhold our tithes
and other offerings than to allow ourselves to be vulnerable even a little,
those times when we are just too distracted or too tired to spend some alone
time in prayer with the One who seeks us out and beckons us into a life only He
can envision and give!
Prayers
of confession acknowledge all these things, but prayers of confession always
approach the Throne of Grace with confidence in the Eternal Covenant the Lord
Himself has offered to His people! Only when we face our humanness with
honesty can we expect our spiritual selves to be fed … and to the full!
Let
us continue this journey of Lent with high expectations for what the Lord will
reveal to those who earnestly seek His face!
Blessings,
Michael
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