Psalm 38

“O Lord do not rebuke me in Your wrath, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure! For Your arrows pierce me deeply, and Your hand presses me down. There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness.”  Psalm 38:1-5 (NKJV)

During his 2016 election campaign, President Donald Trump shocked Christians at the Family Leadership Summit when he told an interviewer that he considered himself a Christian but had never asked God for forgiveness. What appalled Christians was how a person could declare himself a believer but skip over an essential mechanic in the process of salvation: repentance! To turn to Jesus, one must admit they need salvation and be willing to turn from their sin.

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” Acts 3:19-21 (NKJV)

In the days that followed Trump’s statement, efforts were made by other interviewers to have Trump clarify. Cal Thomas extracted from the candidate, “I will be asking for forgiveness, but hopefully, I won’t have to be asking for much forgiveness.” Fellow candidate Ben Carson even told reporters he had prayed with Trump, who had asked the Lord for forgiveness. But the damage was done.   The reason I mention Trump’s statement is not to denigrate President Trump. Instead, I was taken aback by the contrast of Trump’s not feeling he needed to ask forgiveness set against the backdrop of King David’s burden over his self-admitted transgressions and “foolishness.” Humility is a far more powerful quality for a leader than hubris. And we can learn from David not just how to defeat giants and elude Saul but how to return to the Lord after we have sinned. If you do not feel you need forgiveness, remember this:  there is a little “Saul” in us all.

But can David be sure God will listen to his prayers, much less respond positively to his entreats? More importantly, what happens when we repent?  

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (NKJV)

Indeed, while David could not be certain of the degree of mercy the Lord would show him, he knew he could trust God at His Word. A small measure of God’s mercy is worth infinitely more than political correctness and human effort.

“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Luke 5:32 (NKJV)