sokin's devotional 81 - repentence

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight so that You may be justified in Your words and blameless in Your judgment.

For You will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; You will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Psalm 51:4,17

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After David was caught in sin by sleeping with Bathesheba and murdering her husband, David came before the Lord in reptenence.

But the nature of David's repentence shows us that repentence shouldn't be a mere tradition or habit - it involves the heart. And in order for the true heart of repentence to be involved, it has to understand to whom the offense is done towards.

Typically, when we sin, we may suffer consequences. Consequences of being caught, found out, or the consequences that are brought to us because of our wrongdoing.

What this may do to us is that when we sin, we are more reptentive and sorrow-filled because we don't want to suffer the results of our sin. 

But here, David reveals the true heart of repentence in that our sin is not against us necessarily, but first and foremost, our sin is against God and God alone.

In verse 4, we see the heart of David and his correct mindset on how sin affects us - it fractures/breaks our fellowship with God. This cannot be healed by mere habitual reptenence, but all the acts of reptenence must be done out of an overflow of a heart that recognizes that our sin offends God and God alone.

So we can mourn, we can pray, we can weep - but if these repentive acts are done out of a desire not to suffer the consequences, then it is a self-centered reptenence.

We must view our sin in light of God's perspective, and see that our sin greatly offends and fractures our relationship with God. This brokeness, which was only healed and restored by the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ.

May my repentence before the Lord in light of the sins that He chooses to bring to light, make me fall at the foot of the Cross, recognizing that while my sins have greatly grieved and was against God alone, that He alone became my restoration and salvation.