Innocent when the Claims are Guilty

Blogging is like prayer journaling. I tend to only write when struggling to push off that dark cloud of depression lurking over me. This morning, I found myself reading through some of the Psalms like 55-58. David expresses that people were against him and he was alone. He continued to say “I will put my trust in You.” In Psalm 56, he even said, “What can man do to me?” 

The words and actions of man are more tangible and physical than the awesome awareness and presence of God most times. Hurting People hurt people. And that hurt is manifested through actions like jealousy, gossip, anger and the list goes on. Because we are also flesh and blood, it is difficult to discern if the hurting person who is successfully hurting you has any validity. I frequently wonder “if I deserve this.” How are we to really know that we are innocent?

Reading the Psalms this morning, I saw how David confidently proclaimed to the Lord that he was innocent. The litmus test of truth must be in the ability to represent yourself before the Lord. When we come to the Lord in prayer and your spirit understands that you are exposing your heart before a Holy, Blameless and All Powerful God, our tendency would be to confess sins. However, if instead we honestly can say before God, “I have not sinned and I am innocent in this matter,” then our inner soul needs to confidently stand tall knowing that God knows and you can trust Him regardless of the words, actions and emotions of man.

By coming to God, either way–guilty or innocent, we will change. In the guilt of wrong behavior, confessing sin gets us back on track and the Lord will lead us also. It is wonderful to know that the answer consistently lies in returning to the Lord. He alone can be trusted and only He can truly pierce your heart to bring about change for the better. When it is all said and done, it only matters what God thinks about us any way. We stand before Him alone some day and I am thankful that He is a God of love and forgiveness who helps the innocent as well as the guilty.

“I Will Trust You”

Like many of us, there is situation in my life that I desperately want to change. As a result, my mind takes me down a variety of routes to find hope for it to work out or be different. Each time, I come up with the same answer: a dead end. I have sought the Lord on this topic and sense His silence. Continually wrestling with this issue has done nothing for me except quench my peace and steal my joy. I also have come to realize that I am becoming stumbled in my own faith (or lack of it).  I am now praying that I can read the dead end sign at the beginning of the cul-de-sac and just believe it to be true instead of needing to drive down the street to prove it to myself.

Our God does things in His timing and answers our prayers according to His will. Jesus knew the Lord’s will when He asked, “Not my will but Yours.” God’s will is not our own and we should not kick against to goads. When we do challenge His will, we find a lack of peace in our lives and we find ourselves fighting against God instead of trusting in God. I need to get back to the basic… “Lord, You heard me the very first time I prayed about this situation. I have beseeched You and truly do desire Your will to be done over my own desire. So today, I will resolve myself to say, “Yes, Lord, I will trust You.”