This week, someone asked me if I could visit with them about a handout they received which quoted some words from Psalm 51. We opened a Bible and looked at the verses together. I explained this psalm was written by David and it records his thoughts as he went to the Lord in repentance for some terrible sins he had committed, sins for which he felt great remorse and shame. As we discussed David’s words, we talked about the fact that everyone has sinned, everyone has done wrong things, and for that reason, many people live with a heavy sense of guilt and shame. That seems to describe how David was feeling after he was confronted with his sin by Nathan the prophet. David feels horrible about what he has done, he keeps beating himself up, and finally David goes to the Lord in prayer and entreats the Lord to forgive him, to wash away his sin, to cleanse him of his unrighteousness and restore the joy of his salvation. David trusts that God will answer that prayer. I believe it is a prayer the Lord always answers.

After several minutes of us sharing our thoughts on this passage, they pointed back to verse one where David speaks of “God’s unfailing love.” They began to weep and proclaimed, “I know what this means. I’ve done some things that I’m not proud of too…but God still loves me. God still loves me!” It was a beautiful moment. It was such a blessing to be present as God restored the joy of someone’s salvation.

I hope that you have experienced the joy of His salvation.  And I hope that you cling to it tightly and forever embrace God’s unfailing love.