Psalm 6: Please God...no more trips to the woodshed!

LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger 

or discipline me in your wrath. Have mercy on me,
LORD, for I am faint. (Pic from Paris Psalter)

By Andy Flood

Psalm 6 (NIV) 

David, feeling the hot displeasure of God is in desperate need of God's mercy. But he doesn't flee from God here, being a man after God's own heart he turns to God with this heartfelt prayer/song crying out for God to ease off with the discipline, "Please God.....no more trips to the woodshed!"

Having felt God's hot displeasure before, I certainly know the need for forgiveness, sought through repentance. But I feel challenged, am I only repentant when I've been caught by God? Or am I coming to Him daily asking Him to reveal my mistakes?

We can get caught up in the sins of our past, those habitual sins that made us feel extra rubbish, forget that repentance is part of dying daily and only feel our conscience prick when we're tempted to return to old habits.

So here's the challenge:

How can we grow to be more like Jesus if we are blinkered to the sins we've become comfortable with?

Run and hide? By no means! We turn to our gracious Dad. The one who saw our need and met it, and continues to meet our need of a saviour. Confess and in our turning our relationship is restored.

Let's not be like David's enemies scoffing at his weakness and who were ultimately put to shame. Rather let us be united in our vision for each other to grow, preferring one another and delighting in each others' walk with the Father.

We can be thankful that David's prayer is answered in the Psalm. He knows the forgiveness of the Father.

We will always be sons and daughters of the King, nothing can take that away!

THANK GOD!!