Psalms 32:1-11

“Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the one    whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. 3 When I kept silent,     my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. 6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. 7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. 9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. 10 Many are the woes of the wicked,     but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. 11 Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!”

In the film “The Mission,” Robert DeNiro plays a mercenary who has taken asylum in a local church after killing his brother in a fit of jealous rage. Eventually he heads to a mission post located above the waterfalls in the jungles of South American. But because of his past failure and his regret he chooses to tie himself to a several-hundred pound net of items and drag them around. Just like many of us we end up dragging around our sacks of sin trying to do penance for our past messes and mistakes. And like Robert DeNiro we struggle and slip under the weight of our sin only to end up being chocked by the rope that binds us to our burdens. Many of us are trying to do life tethered to out transgressions. Like Robert DeNiro we are still holding onto our sin and the shame that comes with it. We end up loaded down under a burden of guilt and shame over past failures. Are you swimming in a sea of shame, trying to survive but drowning under the weight of your guilt? What do we do when we realize that we have messed up? How do you find your footing when you keep falling into failure? Where do you turn when you have failed and hurt those closest to you? Do you grab some rope and hitch it up to your sack of sin and start dragging? Or, is there something better? Over the next few blogs we will be answering that question as we look at Psalm 32, but first let me remind you of the results of guilt.

1. Guilt destroys

It corrodes our confidence making us feel insecure because we are constantly concerned that others are going to discover our past dirt, what we really like, or what we’ve really done. There is a story told about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes novels, who played a prank on five of the most prominent men in England. He sent an anonymous note to each one that simply said this, “All is found out, flee at once.” Within 24 hours all five men had left the country. Because of guilt many of us are living in fear instead of in freedom. We are wasting our time trying to cover up our sin instead of confessing it. Not only does guild destroy us from within but:

2. Guilt damages our relationships.

When we live under the load of guilt with unconfessed sin we often end up responding to people in poor and painful ways. When we carry guilt around in our gut we often react with anger or impatience, sometimes we end up isolating ourselves, pulling back from those we love. Because we live in the garbage of our guilt we end up ruining our relationships only adding to our list of regrets. Instead of engaging in relationship we end up running from it. Not only does guilt destroy and damage but:

3. Guilt damns

Because guilt keeps us stuck in the prison of our past, where we end up continuously replaying our sins over and over in our mind? We end up reliving our past instead and ruining our present. The truth is guilt cannot change the past just as worry cannot change the future. The only thing guilt can do is mire us down and make us miserable. You see guilt should cause us to turn to God, but while many of us wrestle with false guilt, too few of us take our real guilt seriously. Instead of confessing our sins, we try to cover them up or refuse to even recognize them as sin. Today in our attempt to ignore and reject sin we have renamed it. Today life is being defined by what we want to believe instead of being based on the bible and anyone that disagrees is not only politically incorrect but they are labeled a bigot. But believing and basing your life on the bible doesn’t make you a bigot. Instead the bible provides a foundation that can filter our feelings and help us to test what is true. The bible is not just our base its our bedrock. It calls us back to the truth that we are sinners who have missed the mark of God’s perfection. Because of sin our own death warrants have been written into our birth certificates. The truth is that we struggle with guilt because we are guilty. Ecclesiastes 7:20 makes this truth clear: “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.” The Author of Psalm 32 is David, who although he was a great king and walked with God for much of his life also struggled with sin. David  committing adultery and murder but he speaks to us as one familiar not only with failure but also forgiveness. He reminds us that regardless of how rotten we are we can be fully restored and completely forgiven. There are seven psalms of forgiveness, Psalm 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143 and Psalm 32 is sometimes referred to as one of “Paul’s Psalms” because it is quoted extensively in Romans 4:6-8 to help establish that we are declared righteous not because of what we’ve done, but because of what Christ did on the Cross. You don’t have to let your life be guided by guilt you can confess your sin and be cleansed. Do you want to live in the failure or in the forgiveness? Why not come and confess your sins, admit your guilt to God and let Him forgive you.

Isaiah 41:10-14

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. 11 “See, all your angry enemies lie there,     confused and humiliated. Anyone who opposes you will die and come to nothing. 12 You will look in vain     for those who tried to conquer you. Those who attack you will come to nothing. 13 For I hold you by your right hand— I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you. 14 Though you are a lowly worm, O Jacob, don’t be afraid, people of Israel, for I will help you. I am the Lord, your Redeemer. I am the Holy One of Israel.’

In 1933, as America faced the depths of great depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt the newly elected president addressed the nation in his first inaugural speech with these words “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!” Fear often rears its ugly head and reveals it’s self in our lives when we are at risk of losing something we care deeply about, our health, wealth, reputation, jobs, freedom, family, or friends. It reveals both our desire to protect the things in life that are important to us, as well as out tendency to turn to self-trust rather than super-naturally entrusting them to God’s care and control. Fear doesn’t just flood over us, it takes over us, crippling us emotionally, paralyzing us physically, and sapping us spiritually. We become afraid to take risks, instead of living radical lives we live reserved ones. We become afraid to share our faith and tell others about Christ’s forgiveness. Instead of extend our lives and resources to bless and benefit others, or to venture into new territory we hole up and hold back. Instead of living to help we end up living to hide. Fear makes us more vulnerable to the enemy, who tempts us to compromise biblical convictions and instead of trusting Christ take control of our own lives. The only real antidote to anxiety is to trust the Almighty, to put our trust in His power presence, protection, and provision. As Christians we are commanded not to fear regardless of our circumstances, and just as God guaranteed that His people would accomplish His purpose in the past so He does for us in the present. We will face troubles in this life, we are not promised a trouble free life rather we are promised His presence and power in the midst of the problems. As a result we should not be a people plagued by anxious hearts or worried thoughts. The mark of God’s people is not one of cowering but one of courageous confidence and trust in Christ. It’s here in Isaiah 41 that we see God’s antidote to anxiety, His first prescription for panic is:

• His Promised Presence

Verse 10 is one of the great promises of Scripture. “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Here God promises us the power of His presence, His presence that allows us to have peace in the midst of the panic. Because of their relationship with Him they could be reassured and find rest in Him. Are you resting in your relationship with Him or are you running around trying to control the chaos? We should take courage because our God is not only powerful but He is present here with us. This is a promise we should stand on, a firm foundation on which to fix our focus. We have a God who is not absent or unable to assist. Jesus promised His presence in Matthew 28:20: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” When you are tempted to worry and be filled with fear, remember His promise and proclaim it out loud, I will have no fear because my God is here! Even when disaster comes we do not have to be dismayed because He is our God the great “I Am.” To be dismayed means to look around in a state of alarm, anxiously filled with fear. If we would truly fix our eyes on Him and really see how great our God is most of our fears would melt away. Most of us have just never taken the time to ponder His power. I want to challenge you this week to grow your view of God, read Isaiah 40 and 41. Here is a small sampling from Isaiah 40:10, 23: “See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and His arm rules for Him…He reduces rulers to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.” It’s time to stop focusing on the fear and start focusing on the Father. The One knows our weaknesses and promises to strengthen and support us. Not only will He strengthen, but He will help, and not only will He strengthen and help, but He will also uphold us. Hebrews 13:6 says: “So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” Unlike others who might “unfriend” us when we do something stupid God promises to be faithful. This idea of upholding means to undergird, to make secure underneath. We have a Father whose presence provides a firm foundation. This upholding is symbolized by God’s righteous right hand, denoting “right” action in all circumstances. This means that God’s great power will do the right thing at the right time. Even in our failure we can hold on to the truth that He upholds us even when we are barely holding on. Psalm 145:13-14: “The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.” When was the last time you paused to recall all the times that God has helped and upheld you? Why not take time right now to give Him praise for His faithful presence in your life. Because you will either spend your energy giving priority to the problems or giving praise to the Father.