“Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O LORD—how long?” Psalm 6:2-3
Devotion:
When we turn from God or step outside of His way, it will impact us in some way. Some may falsely believe that sin only relates to our “spiritual lives,” but in reality, our relationship with God is a total life reality. So, we shouldn’t be surprised to see David talking about his troubled bones as well as his troubled soul when he comes under conviction for sin. Humans are unified beings who live in an interrelated soul-and-body existence. Sin will have its effects on the inside and the outside—even for those who belong to Jesus.
While it is true that we look to the cross and know that God is for us, it doesn’t mean that our consciences can be cleared or the stress in our bodies can be relieved in some sort of mechanical way. We must always remember the work of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God takes what is Christ’s and brings it to us. So, we are dependent upon the work of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit to truly cleanse the conscience. Christ accomplished forgiveness, and the Spirit applies it. A forgiven sinner who comes under the healing balm of a cleansed conscience will know rest in body and soul. This rest will come partly now and completely in the future at the final resurrection.
This world would have us believe that feeling bad is always bad. But there are some good things that come from feeling bad. First, when we feel bad, we are acknowledging that our sin offends God. Second, when we feel bad, we remember the weight of what Christ has done for us in bearing our stripes. And third, when we feel bad, it drives us back to the Spirit of God to plead for His present and future mercy. We don’t ever slide in and out of a state of mercy, but we do slide in and out of our moment-by-moment experience of mercy. This rhythm of application keeps us humble and dependent upon the Spirit. We learn the depth of His grace when we turn to Him in our trouble, especially when our trouble is our own fault.
Prayer:
Father, You tell us that if we confess our sins, You are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We ask You to make good on Your promise. We are burdened under the weight of our sin. We feel it in our soul and in our body because the totality of who we are belongs to You.
Although it is hard to pray this, we do pray for the conviction of our sin. We don’t want to be walking in our own foolish ways. Please give us unrest until we return to You. Hound us with Your heavy hand, both inside and out, until we turn to You in repentance.
Send Your Spirit to heal us. We pray that He would apply the work of Christ to us. We long for true freedom—not a manufactured one, but a Spirit-led freedom. In Jesus’ name, we worship and pray. Amen.
