We have a loving and kind God, but this loving and kind God is also a very Holy God. He hates sin! By sin, I mean anything that goes against his holy nature and that he has warned us against. We are told in the Ten Commandments how to live and act, but there is not one of us who has not at least committed these sins in our hearts if not in our physical bodies.

King David, a man after God’s own heart sinned greatly. He was looking out and saw Bathsheba bathing and burned with lust. He desired her, sent for her, slept with her, got her pregnant and then had her husband murdered. Wow! Talk about digressing, he did not count the cost, just acted on his own selfish wants. God had not withheld anything from him and blessed him greatly. Chose him to be King above others.

Nathan came along and spilled it out to him. God was not pleased, He saw it and disliked it. David burned with shame and sorrow. The next thing he did was the right thing to do. David repented. He knew not to ignore this thing he had done but went to the very one he had sinned against. God. He knew that God loved him and wanted to forgive him. He was not afraid of God. He understood that his sin although it hurt many, the one it hurt the most was God. No one else could forgive him and cleanse him and restore him, just God.

That is still true today, we need the forgiveness of God. We need to always keep in mind that our sins are against a Holy God who sees and hears everything. There is no hidden sin from God. There may be things we do that we are not aware of that are sinful, hidden sins, but they are very evident to God. He is still kind and loving and He still desires to cleanse us and set us right. God won’t push us to repentance. He wants it to come because we are truly sorrowful for our actions. As Christian’s when we do not seek forgiveness, we are forcing God’s hand of punishment. It does not mean we are unsaved, but it means we chose to hold onto our rebellion and not seek His forgiveness and restoration.

He is still God and He is still in the business of forgiving us. When we hold onto our sin, it will begin to rob us of our joy. It eats away at our conscience and we begin to try and hide from God. He is not fooled, He patiently waits for us to bend the knee and bow the head and seek him.

Psalm 32 opens with these words. “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven. 2 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.” As we read on down through the passage we see these words and how true they are. 3 “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night, your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.” This next thing is what David realized he needed to do, and it is what we need to do. 5 “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”-and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

David understood that his days were only going to get harder and the weight of his sin heavier. He needed to be made right with God and the only one who could make him right was the one he had sinned against. So, down on his knees he went, sorrowful and needy. God did not turn away, he did for David what he will do for you. He restored his joy. We find this in Psalm 51. David asked that his joy would be restored. Psalm 51:12 “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” David understood that he could not buy forgiveness, he could not give an offering or a sacrifice, there was nothing in and of himself that would cleanse him and restore him..Just true repentance. Psalm 5:15-17 “O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

God is still the same today as He was way back then. He is still as Holy although too many forget that. He is still longsuffering and kind and desires to right our wrongs and forgive us. He won’t force us to repentance if we come willingly to him. He does not always remove the consequences of our sin, but sometimes he does.

Maybe you have some sin hanging over you, you have held onto the shame for a long time…it is never too late to say I am sorry. And unlike some people, God will not refuse a sincere apology. He tells us that when we repent and ask for forgiveness he is faithful and just to forgive us of all our sin and to cleanse us. 1 John 1:9.

Go, my friend, run fast to Jesus, pour out your forgiveness and experience the healing balm that washes over you as God leans in listens and cleanses you and restores your joy as he takes your shame. He still wants to and he still will.