The Thing You’re Avoiding
“When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.”Psalm 32:3–5 (KJV)
Sometimes we can’t rest, and we assume it means we need to work more. But a mind that won’t switch off at night may be pointing at something else: the conversation you’ve been dodging, the decision you keep postponing, the apology you haven’t made.
David knew that kind of restlessness. “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me.” Then he stopped avoiding it: “I acknowledged my sin unto thee… and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.”
Jesus said that some things come even before worship: “first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”
Rest usually feels peaceful after faithfulness, not before it. If something is gnawing at you, deal with it. Make the call, have the talk, confess the sin. Then see how well you sleep.
Read it yourself
Read Psalm 32. What does David say about the man whose sin is covered?
What have you been avoiding that might be stealing your rest?
Lord, show me what I’ve been avoiding. Give me courage to deal with it, and then give me rest. Amen.