Last week’s devotional was a strong word about the cost of sin, not only to us, but also to those around us (read it here). The calling on us as worship leaders is a high calling that demands to be honored and reverenced, especially so because we are in places of influence over others. We are not perfect people, however. We make mistakes, we fall short and we blow it. The message of this week’s devotional is that when we fail, there is grace, forgiveness and mercy that will always outweigh, outnumber and outlast our failures.
In the Scriptures, we find countless examples of well-intentioned, “good” people; people who loved and honored God, people who were strong leaders – yet people who fell short. We find among them Peter who denied knowing Jesus three times right after pledging his love and devotion. We also find David. This is one whose failures were an epic splat on the pages of the Old Testament.
We look at David and think of his sins being “the big ones”: adultery and murder. Somewhere along the way, we humans have decided to label and rank sin from “paramount” down to “insignificant.” God does not have a ranking system for sin, however. The Bible calls our best efforts filthy and grease-stained compared to His holiness. (Isaiah 64:6 MSG)
In His eyes we all miss the mark. Whether we sin in outward, loud and overt ways that affect others, or in the secret places of our hearts where no one else knows, sin is sin. Period.
When Nathan the Prophet confronted David about his sin with Bathsheba, he had a wake up call that put him on his face before God in repentance. We read his heart cry in Psalm 51:
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” (Psalm 51:1-4)
David repented. He acknowledged the cost of his sin and fell on the mercy of God to forgive him. The beautiful thing about David’s story is that God did indeed forgive him. We now know David as a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22). David’s heart lined up with God’s because he blew it so badly, and because he came to know God’s heart for him through the fact that even though he blew it, God forgave and restored him.
David says, “I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered.” (Psalm 51:16 MSG) There’s something about those epic failures that when they are confessed, repented and forsaken, and still met with the overwhelming love, forgiveness, and mercy of God…well that kind of thing gets your attention. When you are in great need of forgiveness, and you find it in Him, you catch a glimpse of just how much you need Him…and how much He loves you. It will deepen your worship because the more you know Him, the more you will love Him.
Rest in this promise: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)
Or, to put it into the language of modern song:
“There’s none too poor, too dirty, too broken, too naked, too stupid, too drunken to be…thrown outside His love.” (Aaron Strumpel, “Give Me Your Hand,” Enter the Worship Circle: Fourth Circle, 2008)
