Psalm 32: He holds nothing against you

By Sean Theunissen

Psalm 32 (MSG)


'God holds nothing against you and you're holding nothing back from Him. When I kept it all inside, my bones turned to powder, my words became day-long groans. The pressure never let up; all the juices of my life dried up. Then I let it all out; I said, "I'll make a clean breast of my failures to God." Suddenly the pressure was gone, my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared.' The Message


I broke a lot of windows when I was a kid. I used to play tennis in the back garden and there is a moment after you've hit the ball that you realise it's not going to hit the wall, but it is going to hit the window. Desperately you shout at the ball to stop but not once did it listen!

You know you're going to be found out soon but for some reason you just can't bring yourself to say anything. Your dad's in a good mood, but you know that it's all going to change in a while once you've been found out.

Our heavenly Dad is different. Not only does He know everything we've ever done wrong and will do wrong - and believe me, breaking a window is a drop in the ocean of mistakes I've made - but He loves us all the same.

There's that wonderful moment when all is out in the open and the punishment and telling off is over, forgiveness is granted and the slate is wiped clean that you feel like a ton of bricks have been lifted off of you.

David reminds me of those moments where I've just not wanted to come before God with my sin, thinking that maybe if I just give it a few days He won't be so disappointed with me. We forget that He sees everything, and through perfectly pure eyes, but He also sees Jesus blood completely covering us and declares us righteous.

When we keep it all inside, our conscience is weakened. When we fail to repent and keep a short account with God, we're actually in our hearts deciding that the blood Jesus shed was not enough to cover this sin, that somehow His sacrifice was not enough for this one and that we can deal with it ourselves. We'll dry up and decay as David puts it. Let's make sure that it's our sin that dissolves rather than our hearts.

Father, thank you for your Son Jesus through whom I am found righteous, through whom the price for my sin is paid. Thank you for looking at me with your x-ray eyes and still loving me. Lord, help me to keep a short account with you. I don't want my heart to decay and my conscience to be numb but rather I want my life to be consumed for nothing but you.