Oakwood Church Fresh Start Women's Devotional Encouragement for Today Hartland Delafield

Remember Not...
By Susan Klein

“Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord.”
Psalm 25:7

If there’s one person in the Bible I can relate to, it’s David. I love reading through the Psalms and getting glimpses into his thoughts and feelings. I believe he was an emotional sort of person, like I am. And he enjoyed writing about what he was feeling, as do I. He wrote when he was praiseful, when he was afraid, when he was contemplative, when he was repentant, when he was distraught, when he thought God had abandoned him...he wrote about all the things that you and I experience today.
Many times, when I am struggling with present day issues or reminders of my own sinful past, I turn to the Psalms. I can always find a verse that relates to my personal situation.

Take, for example, the verse above. David, though eventually crowned a king, had his own sin issues to deal with. He was likely feeling a bit of remorse over past sin and was asking God to reassure him of His love. Having become a believer in Jesus Christ as an adult, I also struggled with much sin in the days of my youth. At times, I can only marvel at God’s great and complete forgiveness! Sometimes, though, I fall prey to the great deceiver who wants me to believe that I am still that same old sinner, and am not totally forgiven. But God’s Word shows me otherwise. He does not keep a record of my sins, nor my past rebellion against Him. David points out in Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” God is faithful to forgive, and His mercies are new every morning!

If that is not convincing enough, Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that if we are in Christ, we are a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come! I cannot be that same old sinner! I am a new creation in Christ! The old “me” is gone, along with all those old sins! I can safely rejoice with David in saying, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. He forgives all my sins...he redeems my life from the pit and crowns me with love and compassion!”

GOING DEEPER:
1. When Satan tries to throw your past sins into your present face, are you able to stand firm on the truth that you are completely forgiven?
2. When you are struggling with the trials of life, spend some time with David in the Psalms.

FURTHER READING:
Psalm 103:3-4, 17; Micah 7:18b-19, 8:12

Susan is a wife and mother of two. She is the Coordinator of Oakwood’s Tuesday a.m. Bible Study and one of its teachers.