Have you ever had to admit that you did something wrong?
Maybe you wondered, “What will they say?”“Will they be shocked? Will they judge me? Or will they just let the whole thing go?”
Psalm 85:8 shows us how God responds when we confess our sins to Him:
“I will hear what the LORD will say; for He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones; but let them not turn back to folly.” (NASB)
When we confess our sins to God and ask for forgiveness, He does not act surprised. And He doesn’t get angry.
He speaks peace to us.
He speaks peace to us by pointing us to Jesus who died for our sins and by keeping His promise to forgive us. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(NASB) This is true peace.
But did you notice the second part of Psalm 85:8? After the Psalmist declares that God will speak peace to His people, He says “but let them not turn back to folly.”
The peace that comes after repentance is not a green light to keep on sinning.
That peace is a tiny taste of what being close to God is like. And that taste should give us such an intense craving for the presence of God that it overpowers our lust for sin.
Peace is never found in getting away it. It’s found in getting close to God.
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation. www.lockman.org