14 day plan

Intimacy with God - Part 1

Day 2 of 14

CEV

Psalms 32:4-5

4Night and day your hand

weighed heavily on me,

and my strength was gone

as in the summer heat.

5So I confessed my sins

and told them all to you.

I said, “I'll tell the Lord

each one of my sins.”

Then you forgave me

and took away my guilt.

Reflection:  If ever there was a place where it makes no sense to be anything other than honest, it is when you are in God’s company. The reason is pretty obvious: God already knows your innermost thoughts. The psalmist writes: ‘ You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar’ (Psalm 139:1-2).

Being honest with God is vital because honesty paves the way for God to act and answer prayer.

However, there can be a terror in honesty. There are some truths about ourselves that we can barely bring ourselves to face. What, then, can we say?

Perhaps this: The terror of being honest can only be faced if we understand the grace of God. It is God’s character that gives us the courage to be honest.

And honesty opens us up to God… and the hope God brings.

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, Being honest is not always easy. I’d sometimes like to live with the fiction of who I am rather than the reality. But I choose this day to be honest before you––because you deserve nothing but integrity.  In Jesus name.  Amen.

 

Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®) © 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.

Days

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2
3
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5
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7
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9
10
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12
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14

Psalms 32:1-11

(A special psalm by David.)

The Joy of Forgiveness

1 Our Lord, you bless everyone

whose sins you forgive

and wipe away.

2You bless them by saying,

“You told me your sins,

without trying to hide them,

and now I forgive you.”

3Before I confessed my sins,

my bones felt limp,

and I groaned all day long.

4Night and day your hand

weighed heavily on me,

and my strength was gone

as in the summer heat.

5So I confessed my sins

and told them all to you.

I said, “I'll tell the Lord

each one of my sins.”

Then you forgave me

and took away my guilt.

6We worship you, Lord,

and we should always pray

whenever we find out

that we have sinned.

Then we won't be swept away

by a raging flood.

7You are my hiding place!

You protect me from trouble,

and you put songs in my heart

because you have saved me.

8You said to me,

“I will point out the road

that you should follow.

I will be your teacher

and watch over you.

9Don't be stupid

like horses and mules

that must be led with ropes

to make them obey.”

10All kinds of troubles

will strike the wicked,

but your kindness shields those

who trust you, Lord.

11And so your good people

should celebrate and shout.

Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®) © 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.