Let It Go
“Blessed is he whose
transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.” Psalm 32:1
We live in an age where
people are casual about everything. Casual
sex. Casual about what we put into our
minds. Casual about our view toward things.
David was always passionate.
There was little casualness about him.
When He sinned it was a big deal.
When He repented it was a big deal and he was passionate about God’s
forgiveness. Ps. 32:1- “Blessed is he
whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”
In our
society and even in the church, we lose sight of the fact that God wants to continually
do a cleansing work in our lives. And we’re paying a severe price because of
that fact. Many years ago, a psychiatrist named Karl Menninger wrote a
landmark book entitled, “Whatever Became of Sins?”
Menninger, who is not an evangelical, saw clearly the folly of treating social
and behavioral problems as if their causes were all utterly non-moral. He pointed out that modern psychology’s
approach (and thus the world’s approach) which is making guilt an aberration
and treating self-blame as a fallacy-in effect absolves people from any moral
responsibility. He adds, that eats at
the fabric of the soul and society. He
said, “We desperately need to recover the conviction that certain behavior is
sinful.” Menninger understood that
mental health is contingent upon, if not synonymous with, moral health. The
first step to any effective remedy for all mental and emotional afflictions is
an honest assessment of one’s sin and the acceptance of complete responsibility
of one’s moral failings. Most important, he knows that there is ultimately no
help for those who deny responsibility for their own behavior. But the way that
people respond is generally the direct opposite of responsibility.
Some time ago, at Lake
Isabella, located in the high desert, an hour east of Bakersfield, a woman who
happened to be new to boating, was having a problem. No
matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t get her brand new 22-foot Bayliner
to perform. It wouldn’t get on a plane (a
boating term) at all and was very sluggish in almost every maneuver, no matter
how much power she applied. After about
an hour of trying to make it go, she putted over to a nearby marina hoping they
could tell her what was wrong. A
thorough topside check revealed everything was in perfect working order. The engine was fine. The outdrive went up and down. The prop was the correct size and pitch. So one of the marina guys jumped in the water
to check underneath the boat. He came up
choking water he was laughing so hard.
Under the boat, still strapped securely in place, was the trailer.
It reminds us that
sometimes we hold things underneath the surface that God does not intend for us
to hold. Those barbs of bitterness. The residue of anger. The callousness of contention. All areas that He is glad to take if we offer
them to Him.
In Genesis
3, Adam and Eve had sinned against God and responded in a way that is not so
unique from the way that every one of us does to our sin. (Live between hiding and blaming.) God wants
to extend His forgiveness. First, after Adam sinned, we read that he runs and tries to hide behind
a bush. We refuse to admit what we
have done. God and Adam seemingly are
playing a game of hide and seek. God calls out to Adam, “Where are you?” Adam tries to remain hidden from God.
Roy Hicks Jr. said it
best, “Where are you? That’s a
surprising question. God knew exactly
where Adam was- hiding behind the third bush on the left. Adam was doing what fallen man does when he
sins-he is adjusting reality. When
things aren’t going right, when we’re up against a difficult situation, when we
discover some dark spot in our character or personality, when we’re face to face
with someone we can’t get along with or who’s disappointed us, we want to
adjust reality. We will do anything we
can to hide, to cover up, or blame. Our
reaction is like breathing for us- it’s our nature…The problem was not that God
couldn’t find Adam. It was that Adam
didn’t realize he was hiding.”
Secondly, when God confronts us about our
hiding, we resort to another tactic that
we hope will keep us from being exposed . (It’s called blaming.) God
was at a place where He wanted to extend His forgiveness. Immediately, Adam starts pointing the finger
at Eve. The better thing would be to
take responsibility and let God bring healing.
Whatever your situation, one of God’s greatest delights is to remove the
load you are carrying so you don’t have to pick it up again. And if you have a
boat, make sure to check the trailer.
Terry
Risser
Reflections:
1)
What area has been the hardest for you to release?
2)
Why do you think that we struggle so hard to ask for forgiveness?
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
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