Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+038

Psalm 38 (ESV)

¹⁵ But for you, O Lord, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
¹⁶ For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,
who boast against me when my foot slips!”

¹⁷ For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever before me.
¹⁸ I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin.
¹⁹ But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
²⁰ Those who render me evil for good
accuse me because I follow after good.

²¹ Do not forsake me, O Lord!
O my God, be not far from me!
²² Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!

REFLECTION:

1. Both Old and New Testaments tell us that the Lord disciplines those He loves. David, knowing that he was being disciplined by God, felt wounded, weak, crushed, filled with searing pain.  Rather than trying to hide or find excuses or blames, David came to God with his pain!  Like a little child who turns to mommy for a hug after being spanked, we are to turn to God with arms held out. When we do, God, like any loving parent, will take us up in His arms and comfort us.
2. Despite the fact that David realized he was being disciplined for sin, he was confident that God would answer his plea. How could he be so sure? He said, “I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin” (v18).
3. David understood what 1 John 1:9 conveys to us as a promise: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us.”
4. When have you experienced pain that was at least partly your fault? How did you handle it? What can you learn from David’s example?

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell me.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

HYMN:

Psalm 38 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYLbW9KIz60