Day 27

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight.” —PSALM 19:14

There are three ways God reveals himself – naturally (in creation); specifically (through His word), and experientially (by His Spirit).

The first revelation answers the question: Does God exist? The second answers the question: Has God spoken? The third answers the question: Is God relevant? The Psalmist speaks of all three in Psalm 19. The One revealed in creation, then speaks in His word, and becomes experiential in human life. David can boldly cry out to him, “Keep your servant also from wilful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression” (v.13). For God to keep us from wilful sins is for Him to be very present and very personal.

If we know God essentially as an intellectual exercise we will lack that inner conviction that can only come from experiencing Him in the deepest places in our lives. I say the ‘deepest places’, because I am intrigued that David takes his knowledge of God in Psalm 19 from the vastness of seeing His fingerprints across the universe, to the penetration of His presence into his conscience. We do not really know God until we let Him into our sin! It is often our sin that brings us closest to God, for it is there we must experience His forgiveness and there we find His grace. When we touch His forgiveness and grace we have begun to find His heart.

Paul wrote, “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy1:5). The goal of the Christian experience is that we ‘love’ (for that is the ultimate expression of God’s character), and our ability to do that comes from, ‘a pure heart’ (which only God can create), a ‘good conscience’ (which only God can give us) and ‘a sincere faith’ (which is only possible in meeting the living God).

Do you know God? To help answer that question, have you let Him into your deepest sins and pains? It is there you will experience Him most.

PRAYER: Dear Precious Lord, I humbly invite You into every part of my life, especially into the cold, harsh darkness of my sin. Forgive me, Lord, and create in me a heart aligned with yours. In your holy name, I pray. Amen

TO REFLECT UPON: Am I missing out on what God may do in my life by harbouring sin I have not confessed?