After the Trainwreck
Psalm 51

When you’ve made a series foolish choices and life comes crashing down on you, where do you turn?  The story of King David provides us with some counsel.  It is sobering to honestly face the gravity of our own offense against God.  In David’s case, he had known the joy of trusting God and savoring a close and meaningful fellowship with God.  Yet during mid-life, he made a series of self-indulgent, sinful, and perplexing decisions.  Though David had tried for a time to ignore and cover up the ugliness of what he had chosen, and though for a number of months his heart became hard and distant from God, God never let go of David.   Psalm 51 was a song that David wrote after finally surrendering and turning back to God.  It is a beautiful song of surrender and confession.  For those of us who may wonder if some past sin is so heinous it could never be forgiven, this song is a helpful reminder that there is a way back to God.  Long after David’s life was over, the New Testament book of Acts remembered David as “a man after God’s heart.” It seems David’s repentance was more beautiful than his fall was ugly. The mercy of God is stunning in its reach, and hope-igniting for people willing to honestly surrender to God.

Pastor Tim Haugen

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