ManageYourEmotionsBook8.5x5.5_RevJULY.indd

51:12). Guilt is to joy what kryptonite is to Superman. Once our relationship with God is rejuvenated, we stand in need of restoration that can only come from Him. After you take these decisive steps, proceed with the work God has for you. God didn’t forgive David only to have him drift into obscurity.As leader of Israel, he had work left to do. Likewise, He forgives and renews you and me in order to use us as well. Hear these prompts from the Psalms as you fulfill His plan for your life. Instruction – Providing forgiveness, God offered this promise to David: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.Thankfully, this promise is still as applicable to us today as it was to David over 3,000 years ago.As New Covenant believers, we have something the King of Israel did not have, the Holy Spirit living in us. One of the Spirit’s main jobs is to teach and to remind us of what it means to be a child of God (see John 14:26). Protection – There’s nothing the enemy would rather do after we have found God’s forgiveness than tempt us to become repeat offenders. Left to our own defenses, we’re apt to take the bait. Understanding this, David said, “You are my hiding place;You preserve me from trouble;You surround me with songs of deliver- ance” (Psalm 32:7, emphasis added). Note the specific mention of singing in spiritual warfare. There’s a beautiful example in the OldTestament in which the army of Judah under Jehoshaphat won a huge battle against their enemy with songs, rather than shields and spears (see 2 Chronicles 20:22). No wonder Martin Luther said, “Come, let us sing a Psalm, and drive away the devil.” 88 Celebration – “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; and shout for joy, all who are upright in heart” (Psalm 32:11). Isn’t it wonderful that David regained such a heightened frame of mind even after such horrendous sin?The good news is, that can be

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