Day 157, or June the 6th.
The Benefits of a Forgiving Heart.
Today's thoughts are rooted in Psalm 32, verse 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.
Now the big picture surrounding this verse.
There are several Psalms by David that are called Maskely Psalms, and Psalm 32 is one
of them.
These are designed to be read and re-read, and pondered over.
They are Psalms that we would benefit from meditating over.
Psalm 32 is all about benefiting from forgiveness, so the act of forgiveness was obviously a
very important part of David's life, and must be an essential part of ours, too, when
we recall the words of the Lord Jesus on the cross.
Father, forgive them.
And now today's action step.
Forgiving can be so difficult.
David had much to confess throughout his life, but his formula, found in Psalm 32, worked
every time.
He stopped pretending he hadn't sinned, and then he told God that he agreed with him that
he had indeed sinned.
The result was forgiveness.
It cost him nothing in material terms, but it freed him up to live life to the full.
Having received free forgiveness from God, too many people are then tied down because
they are unwilling to forgive others.
Perhaps the best-known portion of Scripture, the Lord's Prayer, sums it up best.
Forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
This is so clear that I doubt even a lawyer or solicitor could find an escape clause.
Every time we pray this prayer, we are condemning ourselves to being unforgiven by God unless
we have forgiven others.
Of course, some things are so hurtful that forgiveness is virtually impossible.
But remember, your forgiveness depends on it, and that is usually the spur I need to
forgive.
Having forgiven someone doesn't mean you then have to like them.
Of course, we must love them, but they don't have to be our best friend.