Honest With God: Finding Healing and Wholeness Through the PsalmsSample

It was one of my worst moments.

My friends had missed the deadline to pay me by a few days. His parents ended up writing me a check shortly after. However, not long after, he came home with a giant box and a new piece of technology. I couldn’t believe that he was buying more tech while leaving his parents to pay his rent.

Frustrated, I pulled out my phone to text a friend about this shocking purchase. I vented my frustrations with many unkind words in that text message. Then, I hit SEND.

Immediately, I heard a ding in the other room. The only problem was that the person I thought I was texting was not present. I had messaged the harsh words to the very person I was writing about! He stormed out of his room, and I felt so ashamed. We eventually repaired the relationship, but on that day, I felt horrible!

King David felt this crushing weight of moral failure personally. After committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband (one of her bodyguards), Uriah, David moved forward as if nothing was wrong. Everything changed when the prophet Nathan confronted him about the adultery and murder. Faced with a powerful picture of the impact of his sin, David didn't minimize his actions or shift blame. Instead, he wrote what may be the most honest confession in all of Scripture:

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." (Psalm 51:1-4 NIV)

David doesn't say, "I made some mistakes" or "I'm not perfect here." He uses the word "sin" – a word that acknowledges the gravity of what he's done and its impact on his relationship with God.

There's something liberating about acknowledging our failures for what they truly are. Not "poor judgment" or "bad choices" or "learning experiences," but sin. When we minimize our brokenness, we also reduce the magnitude of God's grace needed to heal it.

The first step toward wholeness isn't fixing yourself. It's an honest acknowledgment of how broken you really are. We often either wait to expose ourselves accidentally (like I did with my accidental text) or we can allow God to expose us (like Nathan exposed David). But we don’t have to wait! We can confess our sins and find the freedom they bring.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at how the scariest thing in the world is the path to the freedom our hearts long for most.