Scripture
1Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer;
answer me, for I need your help.
2Protect me, for I am devoted to you.
Save me, for I serve you and trust you.
You are my God.
3Be merciful to me, O Lord,
for I am calling on you constantly.
4Give me happiness, O Lord,
for I give myself to you.
5O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive,
so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.
6Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord;
hear my urgent cry.
7I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble,
and you will answer me.
8No pagan god is like you, O Lord.
None can do what you do!
9All the nations you made
will come and bow before you, Lord;
they will praise your holy name.
10For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.
You alone are God.
11Teach me your ways, O Lord,
that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
so that I may honor you.
12With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.
I will give glory to your name forever,
13for your love for me is very great.
You have rescued me from the depths of death.[1]
14O God, insolent people rise up against me;
a violent gang is trying to kill me.
You mean nothing to them.
15But you, O Lord,
are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to get angry
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
16Look down and have mercy on me.
Give your strength to your servant;
save me, the son of your servant.
17Send me a sign of your favor.
Then those who hate me will be put to shame,
for you, O Lord, help and comfort me.
Translation notes (1)
- 86:13 Hebrew of Sheol.
5O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive,
so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.
Have you ever noticed that the person we often have the hardest time forgiving is ourselves? Unfortunately, it is true for many of us. We can be so hard on ourselves that we beat ourselves down for every mistake we make, big or small. However, if we want to live in peace with ourselves, we must learn to forgive ourselves. We have to learn to take responsibility for our actions and then move on. After all, the Bible makes it clear that God is eager to forgive each one of us when we turn to Him. Understanding this and learning to forgive ourselves is one of the ways we can learn to live at peace not only with God but also with ourselves.
David wrote about God’s forgiveness and unfailing love in Psalm 86. In this chapter, he wrote a prayer to God, saying, “O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help” (verse 5). There are so many things we could talk about from this short verse. I love the emphasis on God’s goodness. He truly is so good. I also love the picture that He is so ready to forgive. He took all of the steps necessary to bring us forgiveness when we come to Him. He’s just waiting for us to take a step toward Him. He is not considering whether or not He will forgive us when we come to Him. He is ready right now. This verse also says that God is “so full of unfailing love for all who ask for [His] help.” This includes help as we battle against sin and seek forgiveness. He wants to help us live in a way that honors Him when we ask.
When we understand how forgiving God is and just how much He loves us, we can begin to view ourselves the way He sees us. We can stop being so hard on ourselves and embrace forgiveness. We can forgive ourselves. We can offer ourselves the same forgiveness we offer other people. God’s love and forgiveness changes everything if we will believe it and embrace it. Will you?
Moving toward action
When we consider God’s forgiveness towards us, we can start to forgive ourselves. After you read the verses listed in the Going Deeper section below, take some time to write about God’s forgiveness. How has He specifically shown eager forgiveness towards you in your own life? Be sure to thank Him for being a God who is more than willing to offer forgiveness when we come to Him.
Going Deeper
Psalm 86:1-17 (NLT)
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