If you ever want to grasp the breadth and depth of God’s love for you in one sitting, just read Psalm 103. David can’t contain his joy or gladness of spirit. “With all my heart I praise the LORD, and with all that I am I praise his holy name!” he begins.

Without pausing for breath David continues to describe who God is and what He does. The Lord forgives, heals, protects, provides, gives us strength, brings justice, teaches, shows what he can do, never fails, is kind, keeps his promises, rules His whole creation.

It’s not enough though to give intellectual assent to who God is and what He does. And it takes more than passion to worship God with all of who you are.

David knew failure intimately – remember Bathsheba? In the face of Nathan’s prophecy, David had the courage to immediately confess his sordid acts as sins against God first. He knew, with equal intimacy, the full measure of God’s kindness: “ . . . he knows we are made of dust. We humans are like grass or wild flowers that quickly bloom. But a scorching wind blows and they quickly wither to be forever forgotten,” he writes in verses 14-16. In failure, David reaches his own limits and only there, in that place, can he rest and consider the vastness of God’s love for him – a king who thought he could get away with murder.

So don’t be afraid when you fail. When we fail, we come to the end of ourselves and we discover that God knows our feeble frames. In that place of profound rest – we are known and still loved by a holy God– how can we ever hold back our hearts?

Abba-Father, you are good. Help us to remember your goodness when we fail, so that in our confession and in our worship, we may give you all of who we are – without reservation, without shame – and thus find rest. In Jesus’ name. Amen

By Renee James