Psalm 25:16-18 (ESV)
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out of my distresses.
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
These verses have become very close to my heart. It is asking God to meet us in our suffering and pain because of the rift in our soul. Begging and pleading with God to understand the heartache and distresses that we have all had at some point in our lives. Though, I never quite understood what the last part had to do with it...'and forgive all my sins'. What does forgiveness of sins have to do with a hurting heart? What means of affliction and trouble that comes to us all have anything to do with asking God to forgive our sins as well? I am the one that is hurting, not anyone else. I need the comfort and peace, not anyone else. What did I do to someone that caused me to have this pain?
Most of the time in our suffering, it is our choices and sins that ultimately led us to this hurt or the hurt we end up causing others. After struggling through recent heartache, i was able to reflect on the decisions that led up to this. I had made choices that were contrary to what God wanted for me. Those choices led me down a path that caused me much pain. It was because i had listened to my own thoughts and not God's. In this process i rebelled against God and sinned. I needed to ask for the mercy and grace from God to heal the wounds I caused to myself and others. It made me understand that in heartache, in afflictions, suffering, and pain, we not only have to come to God and find peace within his arms, but to also ask Him to forgive us for the sin we have caused and to mend those wounds and to restore what was broken. Yes, our sins have already been forgiven on the cross, but we should always come to God in repentance and humbleness, a heart that is opened and not closed. God wants us to come to Him, for his yoke is easy and his burden is light(Matt. 11:30).
In the moment of pain and hurt, it is easy to focus on ourselves. It is hard to see our own sin through this. Only when we get clarity, when we see the sin we have caused and ask for forgiveness, can God start restoring us. The pain will not disappear right away, but we will have allowed sanctification to take place. We realize that God is doing work in our lives through the pain and this is what will help us become more like Him.
