Wednesday, March 9
“A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me.” – Psalm 51
I often find myself drowning in the guilt of my daily mistakes, refusing to accept any compassion or redemption for the things I know I could have done better. Some days it’s the guilt of knowing I could have been more productive in my day; I could have studied more, I could have exercised, I could have caught up on that one class I’ve been falling behind on, or I could have gone to bed earlier. Other days it’s the guilt of past actions and mistakes I can’t seem to let go of…the list never seems to end. This guilt can be paralyzing. It prevents me from being able to see past my daily failings and keeps me up at night reproaching myself for how much better I could do things.
Yet, today’s psalm is a beautiful reminder of God’s immense love and compassion for me. It’s a reminder that He loves and forgives me despite my continued fallings. That He shows me compassion even when I can’t show myself any. So today I choose to accept it. I choose to accept compassion and forgive myself for the things I know I could have done better. Today, I will allow Him to wash away my guilt. I know it can be hard to accept so much compassion for oneself, and I know that those cycles of guilt and regret will soon try to creep into my life again, because I am, after all, just a human. But today, at least for today, I will not let them in. I will let Him cleanse me of my guilt.
I invite you to do the same. Today, I challenge you to only accept compassion and forgiveness for yourself. Let God cleanse you. You deserve the break.
– Alex J