Psalm 25

Psalm 25:1-8

¹ To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;

² in you I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.

³ No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.

⁴ Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;

⁵ guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

⁶ Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.

⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O LORD.

The last half of verse 7 is such a beautiful reminder. So often, upon losing my footing and falling, I come before God and repent with a "but".

God, I'm sorry for getting so angry but... I was tired. I'm sorry that I lacked self-control and failed yet again but... you put me in such a hard situation. I'm sorry for not trusting but... why did you seem so far away?

When brought before God, our "buts" and righteousness are as "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). We can never be the source of our hope, or the way toward holiness; our hope is not in ourselves or even our personal sanctification, but "according to His love" - as fully revealed in Jesus Christ. It is so interesting that David tells God to not remember his deeds but to remember Him.

Something about that struck at my heart. In the busyness of our everyday lives, we often get caught defining ourselves by the prescriptions of the world; not realizing that God sees past that to find us. I imagine the vindication of a kid being totally accepted by His father. A father who sees past the failures and mistakes and finds worth in him as him. No performance, no guilt... just love. Unconditional and unwarranted love. Where else can we go... You alone.

What a beautiful thing it is to come before God, warts and all, asking him to remember us BECAUSE of Him. I fail, but You are good. It's unconditional, it's unwarranted. Open our eyes and melt our hearts.