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Saturday, July 31
 Psalm 32:1-5 1 Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed are those whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD." And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
 Want to try an experiment? The next time you're in the grocery store, go straight to the baked goods aisle and pick up a ten pound bag of flour. Then, carry it through the store as you do the rest of the shopping. Don't put it in the cart. Carry it.
Ten pounds doesn't sound like a whole lot of weight, but after a while, it'll get heavy. Then, it'll get really heavy. Soon, you'll really want to put it down. And when you do, it'll feel good.
That's the same sort of thing David is talking about in the Psalm. When we sin, we start to carry around a burden. It might be guilt or shame. Or maybe we've had an argument with somebody and we're carrying around a grudge. It takes a lot of energy to carry around these burdens. At first it doesn't seem like a big deal, but eventually, it wears us down.
Confession, David says, is like putting down that big bag of flour. It really feels good to let go of these burdens and allow God to heal us and comfort us.
 In your prayer time today, confess your sins and lay down your burdens.
 If today's devotion spoke to you in a particular way and you feel led to share your thoughts with others, please do so.
Comment at DailyDevos.orgCopyright © by Neal Bowes. All Scripture quotations in this publication are from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY'S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® TNIV®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.
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