Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man who's sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD" - and You forgave the guilt of my sin... [The LORD says] "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trust in Him." (Psalm 32:1-5; 8-10)
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I hate blowing up balloons...for six very logical reasons: One, it takes forever. Two, I despise the taste and smell. Three, I hate the feeling it gives your cheeks...so much pressure. Four, I am too much of a perfectionist: I want it "just the right size" (which is BIG - a tad smaller than "popping size"). Five, my fingers are too big to tie perfectly big balloons. And six, my endeavors almost always end with a pop or that nasty spit-filled spewing noise.
Call me crazy and laugh all you want...but I just don't like balloons.
And maybe after this next metaphor, you will look at them differently too. You see, blowing up the "perfect balloon" is much like holding in unseen and unspoken sin.
We notice the opportunity to sin and we are tempted to take it - we want it blown up - so we will devote much time and energy to it. And regardless of sins real nastiness, we choose to partake in it...time after time. We do this again and again because we are never satisfied.
And finally, when we think we are "happy" with the size of our life - our balloon - and we are ready to tie it all up, put a bow on it, and put it away...we somehow can't. The pressure from it all seems like to much to handle and we pop.
What we could once hide rather easily, is now loudly showing itself in all areas of our lives: our relationships, our thoughts, our work place, our actions, and our effectiveness. All of these areas are affected by the pop or spew of our collected sins.
When we keep silent, "our bones waste away through [our] groaning..."
David paints a very vivid word picture here. Sin, when unconfessed, painfully builds up in us like a balloon. Without a doubt, we have all felt the heaviness of keeping things to ourselves, the fear of it being known, and the anxiety that people already see right through us.
This psalm says, "Blessed be the man whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered." We can stay silent all we want, but the reality is that one day we will pop. And no one really wants that. We all want to experience the blessings that God freely gives to us.
But forgiveness comes when we choose to sit down and truly confess; truly make known every bit of "hot air" within us.
Yes, God knows all of our sins. But there is something completely amazing in sitting down and owning up to them. Maybe you need to take this a step further and verbalize this with a friend, spouse, mentor, or family member.
When you do so, I promise you that God will speak verses 8-10 over you: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but my unfailing love surrounds the man who trust in Me."
Let the Lord instruct and guide you. Have a great day. Please feel free to share, like, and/or comment!
Blessings,
Greg, Declare Glory
