Blotted Out
What does God do with your sin?
Verse of the Day
“Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.”
Today’s Devotional
Today, we are going to begin with bibleref.com’s answer to “What does Psalm 51:1 mean?”
“In many of David’s psalms he addresses God as “my God,” but his sin had removed him from close fellowship with God, so in this verse he prays, “O God.” David knew God well enough to know Him as gracious, loving, and merciful. And so, he cries out to God to show unfailing love and abundant mercy by blotting out his transgressions. Transgressions indicate a revolt against God. By violating God’s commandments against adultery and murder, David had rebelled against God, and he knew only God’s grace, love, and abundant mercy could erase his sin.
In Old Testament times, when crimes and debts were forgiven or paid, they were blotted out—erased—from the book in which they were written. When God forgives sin, He similarly blots it out. The apostle Peter urged a crowd that had gathered in Solomon’s Portico to repent “that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). Micah 7:19 assures us that our pardoning God casts all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
Blotted out. Erased. Removed completely and entirely. That’s what God does with our sin, all because of His grace, love, and mercy. That sounds amazing to me, almost too good to be true. And the Bible tells us that God’s mercy is new every morning. (Lamentations 3:23)
Richard Foster teaches that repentance and obedience are essential parts of meditation, which is the process of learning to sit quietly with God, and learning to hear from God. David is showing us what that looks like. Repenting of our sins IS obedient. And it’s a vital step in the renewal process. David is also showing us that we each need to remind ourselves of God’s character as we come to Him. In this one tiny verse, David declares that:
- God is merciful.
- God is, in fact, GOD.
- God’s love is unfailing.
- God has great compassion.
- God is capable of removing not just our sin, but also the stain of our sin.
As we attempt to learn from David’s example, let’s practice declaring who God is, because it helps us to remember. And let’s learn the power of repentance, all the while being awed by and grateful for God’s ability and willingness to completely remove the stain of our sin.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Is it hard for you to fathom God’s forgiveness? Why or why not?
Write a list of as many characteristics about God as you can.
How can you express your gratitude to God for His willingness to forgive you?
If you need to confess anything to God and repent of those things, today is a great day for that.