Staring through a windshield between bug splatters and bird droppings, storm clouds gathered, and thunder rumbled. As the first raindrops fell, they carved pathways through a layer of dust I have apparently been looking through for the last few weeks. When the rain came in earnest, wipers engaged chipping away at the baked-on mess along with the gray road mud from passing trucks. Beyond the relatively cooler 85-degree breeze and being grateful for the long-awaited rainfall, there was more to my view than the slightly obscured highway. Recently read verses came to mind.
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: Psalm 66:18 – KJV
If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. Psalm 66:18 – NLT
The reminders of bugs and birds of days passed were easy to see, but the covering of dust I peered through unaware clouded my eyes and my heart. Had the fervency of my prayer been limited by the screen of filth I was praying through? I approached the Throne of Grace with a humbled heart:
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 – NIV
Even before a word is on my tongue, the Lord knows it fully and if we humbly confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive and cleanse us. Tears fell like raindrops as scales seem to fall from my eyes. Exhausted from the weight I had carried, I found a new strength and breathed a refreshing, forgiven breath.
Some dirt will be washed away by gentle rain, some will take scraping, in repentance and forgiveness of others as well as ourselves. But in the Eyes of God, as soon as we approach Him in humility, He sees us as clean as the windshield when a rain shower turns to sunlight.
If these words have been a blessing, pass them along to another who needs to hear. Reach out to me at John@LiftedKeys.com and tell me your story. I would love to know where and in what way God has guided His words through my pen.
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