Maybe you love the Psalms as much as I do! No matter my circumstances – in joy or heartache – there is very likely a Psalm that connects to my experience. God provided the Psalms because He knew they would bring us needed comfort and timely encouragement that points us to His faithfulness. Thank You, Lord!
Psalm 86 starts out like this:
1 Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need Your help. 2 Protect me, for I am devoted to You. Save me, for I serve You and trust You. You are my God. 3 Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on You constantly. 4 Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to You. 5 O Lord, You are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for Your help. 6 Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord; hear my urgent cry. 7 I will call to You whenever I’m in trouble, and You will answer me.
So much in those seven verses. I hope there were words or phrases that truly got your attention as you read them. I encourage you to go back and read those verses one more time.
For me, there were four words that got my attention. They are part of verse 5: “so ready to forgive”. The Psalmist is speaking of God’s willingness to forgive you and me. It does not say He simply forgives – even though that is absolutely true! Rather, it says that He is “so ready” to forgive. He “bends down”, as the Psalmist shares in verse 1, to hear my prayer. And He is eager to forgive us as we humbly confess to Him with a repentant heart.
This is not the only place where we see this truth in the Bible: Isaiah 55:6-7 says: “Seek the Lord while you can find Him. Call on Him now while He is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that He may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for He will forgive generously.”. And Psalm 130:1-4 shares: “From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for Your help. Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer. Lord, if You kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? But You offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear You.”
Based on these and other Scriptures, God’s readiness and willingness to forgive are not in question. This truth is clear. The question I want to ask you to ponder is “Do you really believe that He is so ready to forgive you?
There are many things that can cause us to doubt the Lord’s willingness to forgive. Guilt and shame over our sin can hinder our willingness to believe He is ready to forgive. A pattern of repeated sins or failures can also hinder our belief, as we may be tempted to believe “we are out of second chances”. In addition to those two things, the enemy of our souls wants to feed us the lies that “your sin is too much” or that “God is done with you”.
So how do we fight this unbelief that hinders our coming to the Lord for His forgiveness. I will share three thoughts below that I am confident can help:
Humbly Confess to God: A key Scripture to know and apply is 1 John 1:8-9 which says: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Please read that again. Did you hear His promise? It is a clear promise from God that if we confess our sin (in this case, our unbelief), He will forgive and cleanse us. This is the Gospel at work – God the Father forgiving us based on the atoning work of Jesus the Son. But don’t miss the word “humbly” in your confession. If you cannot come to the Lord with a humble and repentant heart, then ask the Spirit of God that lives in you to help you get in a humble and repentant posture.
Harness His Word to Fight: Unbelief, for any Christ-follower, is best fought through faith. One of the most important things you can do to grow your faith is memorizing Scripture – hiding God’s Word in your heart. In addition to 1 John 1:8-9 shared previously, commit to your memory Psalm 86:5: “O Lord, You are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for Your help”. Or how about Proverbs 28:13: “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy”. I encourage you to find others as well to add to your arsenal to fight the spiritual battle against unbelief!
Honestly Share with Others: The final suggestion to help is being willing to humble ourselves and honestly share about our struggles with other Christ-followers. That is why being in Christ-centered community with others is vital if we are to grow in following the Lord. The Bible commands us to “bear one another’s burdens”, and that means we need to honestly and humbly share our struggles so that God can use the prayer and encouragement of others in our life. God did not make us to fight unbelief on our own. Humble yourself and honestly share with others, remembering “God gives grace to the humble”.
But There’s More to Help Us
I truly hope what has been shared so far will help you as your wrestle with this unbelief. But I want you to also see that God has more encouragement for you in the rest of those verses from Psalm 86. Here are some other four-word phrases to help:
I need Your help (verse 1): What a simple but powerful cry to the Lord! Cry out for His help to fight unbelief and grow in trusting Him fully with His forgiveness.
You are my God (verse 2): Choosing to remember who He is – and He is not just “God”, but He is “my God”. And He delights to forgive us!
Be merciful to me (verse 3): His incredible mercy and His abundant love and grace are what fuels His willingness to forgive us.
You are so good (verse 5): Oh, the goodness of God to hear our cry for forgiveness and gladly say “YES”!
Hear my urgent cry (verse 6): He loves to hear the humble, desperate cry of His kids for His forgiveness…and He truly delights to forgive us!
You will answer me (verse 7): We cry out in confidence like the Psalmist knowing He will forgive and cleanse us!
So back to the question shared previously: “Do you really believe that He is so ready to forgive you? And if you do, how will you respond in faith the next time you need His forgiveness?
PRAYER: Lord, thank You for the words You penned through David in Psalm 86! May I continue to grow to truly trust that You are so ready to forgive. And knowing that truth, help me to respond in humble repentance when I sin and fall short. And as I cry out to You for your merciful forgiveness, may I be filled with gratitude and walk in growing obedience to You. Thank You Lord. In Jesus’ Name!
Application Section:
1) What words or phrases first stood out to you as you read Psalm 86:1-7? Write them out below.
2) Of the three suggestions given to help (Humbly Confessing, Harnessing His Word, and Honestly Sharing) which one is most difficult for you? What is a faith step that you can take today to grow in this?
3) Did one or two of the 4-word phrases in the “But There’s More to Help Us” section stand out to you? Why do you think they stood out?
4) If you truly have challenges with unbelief around God’s forgiveness of you, please take time today to reach out to someone in your church or a same-gender, Christ-follower for help. Ask them to pray for you and to hold you accountable to grow in this area over the days and weeks ahead. Share with them your “faith step” from #2 above.
Written by Glen Solberg, Abiding Marriage, 2024. Send comments or questions to
Photo by Makarios Tang on Unsplash
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