My, Oh My! Are You In Trouble!

April 2013 – Grace & Truth Magazine

My, Oh My – Are You In Trouble!

Remember those childhood days when you were disobedient? Whether you felt bad or fearful before being confronted, it is quite likely the weight of your wrongdoing was heavy when a responsible adult began to ask in that stern tone, “What have you done?” With a sense of right and wrong, you began giving your answer – which was hopefully a confession rather than a denial.

Even though we, who are believers, have put our trust in the Lord and we know that God sees us through the perfection of His Son, our behavior in this world is still influenced by that man of sin within us. In our heart we desire to be good, but we still do wrong. We need correction. Hebrews tells us why our Father in heaven does this: “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the LORD, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the LORD loves He disciplines and He scourges every son whom He receives. ... God deals with you as with sons ... We had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits and live? ... He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (12:5-11 NASB). Did you notice: He disciplines us because He loves us, because He received us, because we are His sons, because we should be subject to Him, because it is for our good?

The Feature articles this month look at the psalms which are written from the perspective of a seeker of God who has done wrong and is confronted by the LORD. They are often called “penitential psalms.” As you read, I trust you will be able to relate to the expressions of the psalmist as he is confronted with his sin and is brought through the process of confession and repentance – leading not only to a restored relationship, but to a greater appreciation of that Fatherly love which we enjoy! May the Lord encourage us, while we long to be with Him and like Him.

By Paul Alberts