Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.
Psalm 51:1 NLT
The NLT version of Psalm 51:1 highlights a sobering reality with its phrase, blot out the stain of my sins. Each of us, at some point or another, has missed the mark. And while it’s tempting to minimize our mistakes (hey. we’re only human, right?), there’s more to sin than its effect on our self-esteem—there are, like, actual consequences.
I always find it odd when I hear someone say they have no regrets in life. Really?!? I have lots. I mean, sure, mistakes are opportunities to learn, but that doesn’t mean I’m glad I make them—especially when my mistakes hurt people in ways I can’t undo.
Some of us are too slow to forgive ourselves. We wallow in our failures and keep God’s redemption at bay. Others of us are too quick to forgive ourselves. We shrug off wrongdoing and move on without considering how our failures contribute to the brokenness of others.
On this Ash Wednesday, we are invited to take stock of the consequences of our mistakes. Sin and death won’t get the last word, but they are part of the story—a story which locates its central conflict in the sobering reality that we are often helplessly incapable of cleaning up our messes… apart from God.
Oh Lord, help us repent and believe the gospel for we are dust and to dust we shall return. Amen.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. We plan to post a weekly devotional and a monthly topical reflection AND we want to be as interactive as possible. Please share your thoughts and questions—we’d be thrilled to hear from you!
Ah, to not be too slow or too quick in self-reflection and self-forgiveness! And to learn what needs learning. And the real doozy for me: remembering I can't do any of that on my own. Thank you for this one, needed to hear it. ❤️