Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. – Psalm 51:2, KJV

When we sin terribly, we can do so many different things in reaction to our stupidity. We can ignore the guilt, choose to pursue the sin’s pleasure again and again, and beat down our conscience until it is impossible to hear the Holy Spirit. We can fall into depression, daring not to sin again, but totally unable to face the God we have offended due to an overwhelming feeling of unworthiness. Or, we can simply act as if we never sinned, hoping that time without confession will heal the rift, much like friends often hope that time without apology will make the pain of their argument go away.

Of course, none of these human solutions will set things right between us, the disobedient children, and our Heavenly Father. There is only one solution that will: confession. When we mess us, we ought to go to the same altar of confession that David went to when he wrote Psalm 51. Although a king with power over millions, David became a beggar before God Almighty. He begged God to forgive him of his sin.  He begged God to supply him with the clean heart that he could not supply for himself.  And, he begged God for the restoration of joy that only God could provide. David was helpless and miserable without God, and he knew that until he ridded himself of his sin, he would remain helpless and miserable. So it is with us.

When we really, really mess up, we may be so stunned by our actions that we don’t know what to do next. The right response, of course, is to immediately follow David’s lead to the altar of confession, which is the only place we will find peace. Psalm 51 is the road map to that altar. All we need to do is read it and pray it, and the restoration that David enjoyed will be ours as well.

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