Psalm 51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
A new year…a new you?
Resolutions often focus on solving a problem. We make resolutions about health to solve health issues. We make resolutions about organization to solve organization problems. We make resolutions about relationships to solve relationship problems. We make resolutions about faith to solve faith problems.
The question is do any of your resolutions really provide a solution to your biggest problem in life?
Perhaps you ask, “What is my biggest problem in life?” King David realized his biggest problem more prominently after he committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah. What was that problem?
His sin and his sinful nature.
I know, the New Year is for positive vibes and forward moving ambitions, but we must be real about the greatest problem to be solved in 2024.
Sin and our sinful nature.
The trouble is we like to play “cancel culture” with our sinful nature and ignore it, dismiss it, or just pretend it doesn’t exist. We can surmise that “if it feels good do it.” We can justify our actions with the thought, “As long as it doesn’t hurt anyone.” We can make morality and our behavior relative to the situation and justify what we do based on circumstances around us. Thus dismiss that sin and our sinful nature is really a problem.
We CAN do this…but we shouldn’t.
David knew that the evidence of his sin was not only visible to people, but most importantly to the holy God. He couldn’t argue. God was correct in his judgment. His verdict was true: “Guilty.”
No matter how much we want to “cancel,” “justify” or “excuse” our sin, God will always know and in his justice always be right in his judgment and his verdict. Whether we want to admit it or not, one day we will stand before the just, holy God.
When we realize our spiritual predicament before a holy God, we look for solutions. We resolve to try harder. We compare ourselves to others. We try to do more good than bad. The result is NONE of them provide a true and lasting solution.
The solution is only found in the descendant of King David, Jesus. David was a sinner like you and me. However, he trusted God’s promises of forgiveness to come through his descendent. About a 1000 years later, Jesus was born in the city of David (Bethlehem) as a descendent of David. We just celebrated this event at Christmas.
Again, you may ask, “Why are you bringing this up at the beginning of 2024?” Because like King David, the two most important things we can know, believe and trust in the New Year are this:
- I have been sinful from conception…yes, conception.
- I have a perfect Savior in Jesus Christ.
The problem and battle with sin will continue throughout 2024 and beyond. However, our solution for sin and our strength to overcome sin are found in Jesus Christ!
So, why not begin the New Year with the confidence and certainty that our biggest problem in life doesn’t need a New Year’s resolution to solve, it has an “every year” solution already given by the perfect life, innocent death and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Let this truth be your trust in 2024!
Apply: What changes when you realize your biggest problem in life is sin and your sinful nature? What changes when you realize the solution to that problem is only found in Jesus?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the confession of King David to help me realize I have the same problem of sin and my sinful nature. Thank you for solving this problem I never could by sending your Son Jesus to be my perfect Savior. Let this glorious truth be my trust all year long. AMEN.