October 9 - Psalm 25

October 9 - Psalm 25:1-22

Psalm 25:7 "Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord."

Oh my goodness, I barely remember the sins of my youth. I'm much more aware of the sins I committed as I grew older. I do, however, remember being concerned that I might forget a specific sin as a teenager. I was so worried that I might forget some sin and that would really make God angry. So, I began to keep a notebook. Every time a sin would come into my mind, I would write it down and pray for forgiveness. I thought it might be prudent for God to actually help me out with the entire project, so I asked Him to remind me of sins that I might have forgotten. I was really trying to clean up my act.

Well, several months passed and I was filling page after page of this notebook with sins. I discovered that I was pretty awful. Mostly petty little things and thoughts. But, finally God got through to me. I was spending so much time dealing with my personal sins that I wasn't spending much time loving my friends and loving God. I was focused purely on myself. What a selfish exercise that had turned out to be.

Now, I think that it's terribly important for us to confess our sin and present it before God asking for forgiveness and then actively repenting, but that stuff isn't to consume us. We spend much too much time focusing on the negative in this world anyway.

If you continue to read through this Psalm regarding sin, you will notice that David doesn't spend too much time on the negative aspect of it. In Psalm 25:8-11, we see that the Lord is loving and he instructs the sinner and guides the humble, teaching them His way.

This Psalm is a beautiful plea for deliverance and forgiveness. Many of the words are familiar. Take some time to read through this - pray these words as you confess your sins before God. He is loving and faithful (Psalm 25:10).