13min
Nothing feels better than a clean conscience.
Have you ever done something wrong and felt guilty about it? Maybe you told a lie, or stole something, or said something really mean to a friend and made them feel bad. It feels awful right!? You just kinda feel… dirty. What is this feeling? Why do we feel so gross? And why is it that one of the first things we try to do is “hide” it?
Adam and Eve felt this very same way. When they disobeyed God and ate from the tree that God told them not to eat they immediately felt ashamed, gross, and afraid. They had sinned.
You see, God is perfectly good, but sin is just total gross “bad-ness”. One of the realities about sin is that it separates us from God. So if God is good, and sin separates us from God, then that means that any separation from God won’t feel good at all!
As humans, two of the things we usually try to do when we “do something wrong” are to 1) hide what we did, or 2) try to fix it on our own. Adam and Eve tried both of those things, but it didn’t work. The reality is that the only thing that will work is to confess what we did and get forgiveness. Thankfully Jesus came to set us free so we can once again be clean and Holy, just like God is Holy.
As you read tonight’s devotional scripture, take a moment to think about some of the things you’ve done wrong that made you feel kinda gross. If you haven’t told God you’re sorry yet, go ahead and take a moment to tell Him you’re sorry and ask for forgiveness. Then think about God’s goodness as He promises to clean us & forgive us of our sins.
It feels good to feel clean!
Devotional Scriptures
A psalma]”>[a (https://www NULL.biblegateway NULL.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2032&version=NLT#fen-NLT-14333a)] of David.
1 Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
2 Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,b]”>[b (https://www NULL.biblegateway NULL.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2032&version=NLT#fen-NLT-14334b)]
whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
3 When I refused to confess my sin,
my body wasted away,
and I groaned all day long.
4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude
5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude
6 Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time,
that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment.
7 For you are my hiding place;
you protect me from trouble.
You surround me with songs of victory. Interlude
8 The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you.
9 Do not be like a senseless horse or mule
that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”
10 Many sorrows come to the wicked,
but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord.
11 So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him!
Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!