Admitting Your Sins

For I know my transgressions, and my sins are always before me.

Psalm 51:3

 

Are you willing and quick to admit your wrongdoings? Most of us are not. We just don’t like to admit that we are sinners. It is so much easier to blame something or someone else.

Psalm 51 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. We can learn so much from King David’s confession after the prophet Nathan reminded him of his sins with Bathsheba.

First, we see David admitting his sins. He could have denied the sin. He was the king. He could have been upset with Nathan, but King David was gracious. He could have put the blame on Bathsheba, but he didn’t. He admitted his sin.

Then, we notice in Psalm 51:4 that David admits he has sinned against God. Yes, David sinned against Bathsheba and her husband, Uriah. He sinned against his family.  He sinned against the nation of Israel.  However, our sins are always against God because it is His commands that we disobey. Our sins affect others, but it is God’s will that we break.

My favorite verse in Psalm 51 is verse 10 when David writes, create in me a pure heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me. “I need a new heart,” King David says.  I have stored these words in my own heart. Every time I think thoughts or say words that are not pleasing to God the verse pops up in my mind. I thank God for this reminder.

Have you ever asked God to give you a pure heart? Just think of how different our world would be if our hearts were pure. It is important for us, like King David, to admit and seek God’s forgiveness when we sin. We, too, need a clean heart—one that is not filled with anger, jealousy, unforgiveness, and other things that burden us down.

Guilt is a heavy burden to bear. God is there to forgive us when we lay our sins before Him. We just have to admit them.

Georgia Andrus