How to Handle Your Own Burden

“How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
Through my groaning all day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.
I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’;
And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.
Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.”
Psalm 32:1-7

Sin is not only a slam against the character of God, it can be a milestone around our emotional and spiritual necks. King David found himself carrying that burden after his adulterous sin with Bathsheba. Psalm 32, though not definitely connected with this act, is thought by many biblical scholars to be the sequel to Psalm 51. Listen to the oppressive adjectives David used to describe the state of his soul: Wasted, groaning, heavy, drained, fever heat.

The burden for the penalty of our sins - eternal death - is removed by Christ’s sacrificial death when we place our personal trust in Jesus. The penalty has been paid in full. However, when we sin after salvation, our sin - while not separating us from God - does fog our fellowship and make our communion with the Father bittersweet. But there is release. David addressed the blessed cure in Psalm 32:5: “I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’; and You forgave the guilt of my sin.”

If you have sinned, your burden of guilt can be instantly removed through humble and honest confession. It is a burden you need not carry any longer.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10