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“In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause. Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” (Psalm 25:1-5)
Psalm 25 is simply amazing. David professes his desire and need for God with an authentic voice. I read this and am challenged. I wonder if my desire for God will ever be this strong. I want it to be. I want my hope to be in Him all the day long, yet often get distracted and place my hope in visible, tangible things. Things that don’t require faith.
And then there’s this doozy, “Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways. According to your love remember me, for you Lord are good.” (Psalm 25:7)
According to your love, Lord, remember me.
Yes. This.
God’s love changes everything.
My redemption story is evidence. I tell it in my books, I Want It All and Broken Into Beautiful. I’ve shared it on television shows, podcast interviews and every time I speak. God’s love met me in my biggest mess. In my darkest places of rebellion and hurt. I prayed and confessed to Him as a desperate, broken college girl as David did: Please do not remember the sins of my youth.
And He met me there… in the jagged thick of my ruin, with His bright, healing arms of grace and mercy.
God took my failures and gave me forgiveness. My broken for His beauty. My grime for His grace.
Where are you with grace today?
Do you trust God with the details of your past?
Do you trust Him with the pains of your present?
Psalm 25 says that God remembers us according to His love, not according to our failures and frustrations. And His love changes everything.
“For the sake of your name, Lord, forgive my iniquity though it is great” (Psalm 25:11).
When we go to God in confession we are not forgiven for our own sake. We are forgiven for the sake of His holy name.
Hoping and trusting in Jesus can be hard. Accepting the gift of grace is a big thing. I’ve struggled with feelings of worthlessness, knowing I don’t deserve forgiveness. But the Word of God tells me the penalty for my sin was paid-in-full by Jesus on the cross. He said it this way, “If the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
When we step into this freedom, we choose to hope in and trust that the grace of Jesus is enough.
Walk forward in grace today, friend. Join me. Hold your head high, not because of all you’ve done or where you’ve been, but because of the redemption and restoration you have in Christ. Embrace freedom, knowing that the mercy-filled, paid-for righteousness in which you stand is an unshakable, firm foundation.
No one who hopes in Jesus will ever be put to shame.
Let’s dance to the cadence of grace.
Dear Lord,
My hope is in you. Show me your ways. Teach me your paths. Guide me in your truths. Whisper secret love to my heart. Please draw me again to your plans and purposes for the sake of your name, Jesus. Give me courage and grace as I move forward in the freedoms of Your forgiveness.
In Jesus’s Name I pray, Amen.
FOR YOUR REFLECTION and RESPONSE
Read Psalm 25 and note all of the listed attributes and characteristics of God. What one thing can you do today to cling to God’s hope? What do you need guidance with? Pause to read and pray through these prompts, then tell me where you are with this today on my blog or in a direct message on instagram.
Have a beautiful, grace-filled day!
🌸🌸🌸
GWEN
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Comments 10
I’m struggling right now with complete surrender of everything to Jesus. I prayed today for just that, and got some challenging news. He gave me peace, comfort and a spirit of thanksgiving. Christmas is a blessing for exactly those trials we go through. To know that Jesus was born, giving up His eternal throne and laying His life down for our sins, and His resurrection. Thank you for sharing your blog.
“He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.”
Psalm 25:9 (NIV)
Thank you for the reminder of God’s Grace and goodness and that He forgives us for His Holy Name’s sake. May we never forget this truth! As it is never about us-Amen.. in Psalm 25:9 above, David reminds us that God “guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.” We must always protect our hearts against the sneaky sin of pride and be humble for the Lord to hear our prayers and use us mightily! Hallelujah!
“But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.””
James 4:6 (NIV)
Gwen, I love following Girlfriends in God daily and I love today’s on Psalm25. I learned God will take me everyday in any brokenness, and In my contriteness and down low humility and fear of Him, He lifts me up and keeps giving me grace for grace of His love, forgiveness and tender leading. Thankyou for putting it together for me with that Psalm and your talk!
Thanks Sis, Love to all of you,
Annette Riddle
Gwen, Thank you for filling my cup once again!! Your devotions always touch my heart w/ your messages! I needed this reminder that He loves me and forgives me when I’m selfish with my thoughts and feelings…. It brings me back where I need to be…beside Him!! Love and blessings for your holiday sweet lady.
I really needed this psalm 25 this morning. I have done a lot of things I am not proud of. Psalm 7 really got to me and made me cry. My prayer is for deliverance and to trust God for whatever path he takes me.
Blessings to you and your Family
Also I am reading your book Broken into beautiful.
Thanks for your post today. I read the message version of this. What spoke to me out of this is that the Lord has his own blue print for all of us. We just need to follow the signs mapped out for us. Even if we are rejected we have one who is willing to take us by the hand. Praise him!
Hello Anne
I can understand how you’re feeling. Being rejected is not nice and it makes us question why? I have been married for 12 years and I have endured rejection from my husband’s mother during that time. She doesn’t speak to me, however she speaks to my husband and children and also my two sisters in law, this has caused me a lot of pain and I have chosen to deal with it by not speaking to her.
However, this is not how I want to be and I will choose like you to ask God to guard my heart and let me not be ashamed.
Take refugee in God and I will pray for you that this Christmas will be blessed and peaceful and your step children will see your true character.
Love Sophia
Thanks for your post today, Gwen! What hit me right between the eyes in Psalm 25 was this: “Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in You. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You.” As the second wife of my husband, who has 3 grown and married children, I’ve endured slander, gossip, misunderstanding and distrust. Things are much, much better now, but the holidays, especially Christmas, are usually hard on me. This Christmas I’m asking God to “guard my soul”; “deliver me”; “let me not be put to shame” and that “integrity and uprightness will preserve me”! My husband had told his children when we first got married that they needed to decide for themselves who I am and what my character truly is. He told me that they, in time, would see the kind of person I am and would grow to love me as he did! The Lord has truly blessed me through my wonderful husband!
Author
Yes, Anne! LOVE your takeaway here… and totally hear you on the need for us to guard our souls and seek God’s deliverance. I’ve been doing lots of that lately too!
Blessings, friend.
Gwen
Thank you for the simple reminder that God does love us , no matter our past. He is our guide for the present and the future. Only he knows the plan.