Editor’s Note: Lent is a season of personal reflection. As Advent provides a time to prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Lent offers us time to reflect on our sin, and the need for our Savior’s death and resurrection on the cross.
This year, our weekly reflections will focus on the mercy of God. In His goodness, God has displayed mercy towards us from the start. He knew sin would enter the world and created a means to have right-standing with Him. In the coming weeks, it is our hope that we each spend time remembering God’s mercy and His pursuit of us—from our sinfulness and need, to the institution of sacrifices for the Israelites, culminating with the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. God has been always kind, always just, always loving, always merciful.
Previously we focused on our sin, which necessitates our need for mercy from God. This week we turn our focus to repentance. Repentance acts as a bridge—after we have recognized our sin, it is important that we turn back to God in repentance to receive the full measure of his mercy.
Proverbs 28:13
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy
Psalm 32:1-5
1 Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
Isaiah 1:16-20
16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the good things of the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Psalm 51
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Reflect:
In these passages, sin refers to rebellion or violations of God's law. What sin currently has a grip on you? Can you acknowledge your sin to the Lord? Can you share your struggle with a trusted friend? Our Lord promises us forgiveness and release from sin’s grip if we will just acknowledge it and turn from it.
Have you felt the forgiveness of your Savior? Can you relate to David in Psalms 32 when he talks about the weight he felt from his sin and the contrast of that weight lifted once he repented?
Prayer:
Father, thank you that you are a God of mercy—a God of forgiveness. Thank you for sending your Son to take on the weight and price of our sin so that we can be forgiven. Father, you know us intimately and you know our struggles. Praise the Lord that you call us into your presence, even in the midst of sin and shame. Father, we ask that you would remind us of our sin; that you would push us to repentance. Provide a trusted friend, spouse, or pastor that we can confide in. We know that once sin is exposed it no longer has a hold on us. It is exposed to the light (Ephesians 5:12-14). Forgive us Lord for our failures. Help us to strive toward holiness. In your name we pray, Amen.