Week 1 - Psalm 32
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on 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 one who trusts in him.
Rejoice in the Lord and be glad.” Psalm 32: 8-11a
“When we align ourselves more closely with God,
he finds pleasure in this, and we find ourselves being made more whole and holy.”
Alan Fadling (1)
This psalm begins with a vision of blessedness. The one who is blessed is the one who is forgiven. (v.1-2) This is no small matter. Without forgiveness, we waste away. (v3) Without forgiveness, our strength is sapped as in the heat of summer. (v4) Sin affects us. Sin separates us from God and his good vision for our lives. We need to acknowledge our sin.
But as we keep reading this psalm, we discover that forgiveness is the starting point to something even better. We can learn how to live with God.
This is not the way of the horse or the mule. A mule is stubborn. You can’t trust a mule to go where you tell him. You need a bit and a bridle to control him and guide him along the right path.
This is not how we live with God. He will not control us. Instead of a bit and a bridle, we need a teachable spirit. God will guide us with his loving eye. (v8) The Lord will surround us with his unfailing love as we trust in him. (v10)
Notice this is interactive. God guides you with his loving eye, and you can be guided by it. God surrounds you with his unfailing love, and you can receive it as you trust in Him. You can acknowledge your sin to God and receive his forgiveness.
Blessed is the one who is forgiven because it brings restoration and an invitation to fellowship. I like the way Frederick Buechner expresses it: “For both parties, forgiveness means the freedom again to be at peace inside their own skins and to be glad in each other’s presence.”
“The Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad.” (v 10b-11a)
Reflect…
Read Psalm 32. What do you hear God saying to you?
Take an honest look at yourself. Is there anything keeping you from God? What sin do you need to acknowledge?
What does it mean to have a teachable spirit?
How could it help you to be guided by God’s unfailing love?
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1. Alan Fadling, A Year of Slowing Down.
