unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him
Psalm 32:10
I really don't have to punish people who don't want to do things My way. Sooner or later, they end up punishing themselves. They curse Me, they say they don't need Me. They do what they like, and sure enough, their lives fall apart.
Am I determined to pay them back? Am I cursing them? No. They are punishing themselves by rejecting My goondeness in their lives. Living apart from me is like drinking poison. It's death.
But when you trust Me and do things My way, I surround you, guard you and help you. Doing things My way is like drinking cold water on a hot day. It's your choice, but if you hide from Me, trouble will surely find you.
It was almost impossible not to see the giant billboard with the red background and huge white letters that shouted: "this year thousand of men will die from stubbornness." Later I learned that the billboard was one of hundreds just like it targeted at middle aged men who thypically about routine medical screenings and often die from preventable conditions.
Psalm 32 deals with the spiritual disease of sin which can be treated by honest acknoweledgement and repentance. The first five verses express the anguish of hiding our guilt and then celebrate the joyful release of confessing our transgressions to God and being forgiven.
Psalm goes on to show that the Lord longs for us seek His help in difficulty (vv6-8) and receive His guidance. "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye" (v8). We are hindered though. When we stubbornly refuse to follow His direction and repent from our sin.
God's word urges us, "Do not be like the horse or like the mule. . . Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you"(v.9). Rather than hold on to our sin, the Lord offers an alternatives: when we humbly confess, His mercy shall surround us (v.10).
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