Psalm 32:5b, 7 - I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and You [O Lord] forgave the iniquity of my sin. ... You are a hiding place for me; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with shouts of deliverance.
This devotion pairs with this weekend's Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at lutheranhour.org.
All at once, it hit me, like a wave of regret, a flood of guilt. In that moment, I knew I had hurt them, my future father- and-mother-in-law. How I hurt them is a longer story. But, even without the details, you can imagine how I was feeling. You know that when you hurt someone, you make it more difficult for them to trust you. Think of trust like a reservoir of water that you need to sustain and support a relationship with someone. In this case, if you do harm to them, it's like a crack in the dam. And if it's not repaired, the bonds will fail. Trust will be lost. The relationship dries up.
When someone has been wronged by you, they can choose to repair the breach in trust, they can make it worse, or they can ignore it (which is the same thing as making it worse). When I had wronged my future father- and-mother-in-law, they could have made it worse. They could have nursed a grudge. They could have cranked on that crack until the dam broke and we all drowned in its flood. But they didn't. They chose not to hold it against me. They chose not to withhold their love. They chose to sustain the relationship. They chose to forgive.
Forgiveness, in a biblical sense, is just that. It isn't just a formality. It is part of a larger commitment to support a lasting relationship. Take Psalm 32 for example. David, the author, knows he has wronged the LORD—the Creator God who has bound Himself to David, to His people, and ultimately to all the families of the earth (see Genesis 12). God made a covenant promise to sustain this relationship forever.
Forgiveness is part of that. David rejoices, not only because the LORD chooses not to hold his sin against him, but also because God remains committed as ever to being there for him. And when God forgives us—ultimately through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus His Son—He doesn't merely decide to no longer be offended by our sin. He doesn't just patch things over. He chooses to keep on filling the reservoir.
Over the last 22 years, my mother- and-father-in-law have shown me that sort of forgiveness, the covenantal love reflective of what God has done for each of us in Jesus. They gave themselves, filling a reservoir of trust by traveling across the country to be there when our four children were born, by opening their home when we were traveling, by covering countless costs, listening, advising, or just being present. When God forgives you in Jesus, it's not just a formality. He surrounds you with His steadfast love, through your Baptism, through His people, the church, through the Lord's Supper, through Christ-centered preachers and conversations with Christian friends, through His Word. He is there for you. He is your hiding place. He gives—not just forgiveness—He gives Himself.
WE PRAY: Father, forgive me and fill me with Your steadfast love, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour.
Reflection Questions:
1. On a human level, when have you felt the blessedness of being forgiven?
2. Read Psalm 32 aloud. How are you responding to the range of emotions present in the poem?
3. In what ways has God been or could be more of a "hiding place" for you?
Today's Bible Readings: Isaiah 3-4 2 Corinthians 12
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