Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Say it's all right...not feeling too good myself

Monday, February 25, 2002

Daniel 9:4-10
I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:
"O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
"Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame--the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. O Lord, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets."

Daniel knew the Israelites were in the midst of seventy years of desolation. Exiled in Babylon, Jeremiah had told them to settle down and get used to it; God wasn't rescuing them anytime soon.

Reading through what Daniel prayed, I realize it sounds sincere because he isn't making any excuses. The behavior of his people was wrong, and there was no reason for it. None. His request, as he says later in his prayer, is for God's mercy in spite of his people's unrighteousness.

Like any good parent, God wants to forgive his children. But he will not forsake the discipline required to keep them growing. He is determined that they have integrity and be virtuous, in order to experience their own significance in the world he gives them.

What God gives, I must learn to receive. I know I resist discipline, and find many reasons to avoid it. Too often my confessions include some variation of "the devil made me do it." And of course, while God may know that's partly true, it's not the point.

God will work with me as I learn to take responsibility for the little things, in order to give me more and more. Certainly taking responsibility for my sin is part of the deal. If exile, if the desert, if despair lead me away from passing the buck and toward the integrity God wants me to accept, so be it.

Lord, you love me, I know that. Daily I discover facets of your love that surprise me. Your discipline is powerful and effective. Thank you.

Devotions Archive

Say it's all right...not feeling too good myself

Monday, February 25, 2002