Mercy - Proverbs 28

He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
Proverbs 28:13

Having raised three children of my own, I learned that the most effective prayer for parenting was to pray, “Lord, if the actions of my children are not pleasing in your sight, deliver them into my hands.” When it came to my son, God was so faithful to answer that prayer that he could not spit on the sidewalk without someone calling me to tell me about it.

A mother’s prayers are a great tool for accountability during one’s youth. However, there comes a time when it is no longer mom’s job to hold a child accountable. And then mom can only pray that she has laid the groundwork for the child to step up to the plate and accept his responsibility for accountability before the Lord.

It is not a fault reserved for the young to attempt to conceal our sins from the Lord. Since the time of Adam and Eve, God’s people have acted as if they could hide their sins and the Lord would not notice them. The plan doesn’t work any better now than it did in the Garden of Eden. But, how often do you see a situation where a sin is buried, hidden, lied about, or justified.

Think about it. The Lord holds you in the palm of His hand. Where are you going to hide something? Maybe you can tuck it down between the pinky finger and His ring finger. Or, take it all the way out to the tip of His thumb. Maybe He won’t see it there.

Does it sound ridiculous to consider that you could hide something from God when you are safely in the palm of His hand?

It is.

But, that doesn’t stop us from trying. Learn the lesson early. God already knows your faults. Do not be afraid to ask him how to cope with them. Proverbs tells us that to cover your sin will prevent you from prospering. However, if you confess them and forsake them you will have mercy.

My experience has been that no matter how hard I try to do what is right, I cannot seem to make it through life without sinning. The next best thing to living a sinless life is living the life of a forgiven child of God. Experience has taught me that when I sin, rather than trying to justify my mistakes, the best action is to run toward God just as fast as I can. His mercy has always been greater than my ability to mess things up.

... And, that’s not because I am lacking in capacity to make mistakes.

Lord, may your mercy and grace follow us all the days of our lives.