“For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah”
– Psalm 32:4-5
In this psalm, David illustrates how the Lord disciplines His precious children. For those who’ve trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no more condemnation from God. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t fall (or cannonball) into sin. We absolutely can (and do)!
When we do, God doesn’t toss us in the trash or tell us to start over. However, He won’t pat us on the head and leave us in our sins, either. He will discipline us as His beloved sons and daughters. It will be uncomfortable and possibly even painful, depending on how hard it is to get our attention. We will feel the weighty conviction of the Holy Spirit on our souls. We will also experience whatever setbacks, failures, dissatisfactions, disappointments, and defeats are needed to eventually cause us to search our souls and recognize the error of our ways.
And when we do? There’s always forgiveness waiting! God is quick to forgive His precious children when we confess our sins to Him, repenting of our wrongdoing. His forgiveness is instantaneous and complete. In that moment, the Spirit’s heavy conviction lifts off our souls and quite often, the circumstances, situations, and experiences God used to get us back on track begin to resolve themselves as well. The Lord disciplines those He loves. #FollowJesus