Psalm 32

Today's reading for the Bible in a Year includes Psalm 32. A few months ago, I took part in a worship service which was centered on the theme of the Psalms. People were asked to find a psalm that spoke to them for whatever reason, to read it aloud, and say just a few words about what they thought God was saying to them through it.

Psalm 32 was the one I was drawn to.

The image in verse 3 really seemed to be addressed to me: "While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long." (NRSV) Though, to be honest, it wasn't the silence about my sin that I was hearing at that time. It was silence about my beliefs. Reading it now, I don't see how I could have missed the obvious focus on confession. I guess we see what we most need to see at a given time, which is why a program like this isn't something you can ever put in the "done" column of your to-do list.

This is my second time in a bible-in-a-year program. Last time, I was much more fccused on the "task" of completing it, so I didn't really get that much out of it. This time, with the help of the others on the blog, I'm actually digesting what I'm reading, instead of letting it just pass through me (sorry for the rather visceral analogy)

I do have to say that I'm still not very good at confessing, especially verbally. I'm fairly typically male in that regard. I hate showing any sign of weakness or inadequacy, which is really what confessing is all about. Guess I need to work on that some more.

Comments

1

Hey Dwayne,

Don't worry about the image. In fact it is a great image. What is fertilizer but stuff the body hasn't digested. I think that image is fabulous because it means that God used everything to touch our lives, even the things that pass through us. Fertilizer smells real bad but when mixed in with the soil, things grow "mighty fine," strong and tall. So get ready to grow and get yourself some new spiritual clothes, the old ones are not going to fit.

Grace and peace,
Ramona