Finding Mercy – Proverbs 28:13

“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”
Proverbs 28:13

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”
Psalm 32:1-5

How wondrous it is that we find mercy at the altar of our God. We don’t have to clean ourselves up and create our own righteousness in order to approach Him. We don’t have to work at finding the right kind of sacrifice to lay before Him, something that will compel Him to look on us with favor. “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:16-17)

The mercies and favor of God simply require humility. An acknowledgment of our sin, recognition of its evil, and choosing to obey and love the Lord from this day forward. This places us in a position of entire dependence on Him. The focus is taken off of ourselves, because nothing we can do will save us. We wholly depend on His mercy. And it is ours, always, when we take refuge in the cross.

We are truly blessed to experience only grace. To live knowing that the hand of God is upon us for good, because the price for our sins has been paid in full. His hand may still feel heavy at times, if we attempt to hide our wrongdoing and seek to abide in darkness instead of in Christ, but it is His desire that we return to Him so we can know grace and fullness of joy once again.

I love the picture of our relationship with God shown in Psalm 32:7, “You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.” He is our hiding place, a fortress in which we can take shelter when the storms of destruction rage around us (Psalm 57:1). He preserves us, keeping us each moment within His protective, mighty grasp (Psalm 121:7-8). He surrounds us with shouts of deliverance, so when lies begin to invade our thoughts, making us feel captive, burdened, and hopeless, He reminds us of His power and faithfulness to save us to the uttermost (Hebrews 7:25). And we remember that we are no longer bound, but walk in the light and joy of His freedom forever.