“O loving and kind God, have mercy. Have pity upon me and take away the awful stain of my transgressions. Oh, wash me, cleanse me from this guilt. Let me be pure again. For I admit my shameful deed—it haunts me day and night. It is against you and you alone I sinned and did this terrible thing. You saw it all, and your sentence against me is just. But I was born a sinner, yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. You deserve honesty from the heart; yes, utter sincerity and truthfulness. Oh, give me this wisdom. Sprinkle me with the cleansing blood and I shall be clean again. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. And after you have punished me, give me back my joy again. Don’t keep looking at my sins—erase them from your sight. Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires.” (Psalm 51:1-10 The Living Bible)
A student entered college for his first semester. As he prepared to start school, he packed items to move to his dorm, stuffed with clothing and other items in what we will call “The College Trunk.” For four years, the student loaded and lugged that same college trunk from school to home, and then back to school. Finally, after receiving his diploma, the student immediately started cleaning out his room. Some students opted to leave their college trunks by the dumpster, sitting it aside for first-takers or the trash collectors. However, this particular student that I am writing about, he returned home, ready to start a new part of his life journey in life, and he brought The College Trunk home with him. He put The College Trunk somewhere in his parents’ home. I don’t know for sure exactly where he put The College Trunk. But I am certain it was a unfilled storage area somewhere in the house, or the unused side of the garage, or the unorganized laundry room. Regardless of where it was stored, I know for sure that The College Trunk that was filled with mementos that soon would be forgotten. Upon getting a job and getting enough money to move into his own place, do you want to know what he did? He left The College Trunk behind, unseen and unthought of in the days and years ahead. Even on occasional visits back home, he never went near The College Trunk; never! The College Trunk, filled with unknown contents became a thing of the past. It was time to move forward.
How does this story benefit you? If you ever are burdened by guilt, name your guilt “The College Trunk.” After naming it, make a choice. Leave “The College Trunk” by a dumpster, never to be seen again. Or if you have been carrying it around and looking into it from time to time, stop it! Put it in a figurative storage area like the particular student above did! Put it in a place where it is unseen, and unthought of in the days and years ahead. You may be asking, “Will that work?” Good question! It will work if you follow David’s example that you read about the verses above and /or adhere to the instruction in our closing verse. You don’t have to carry around that guilt; “The college trunk.” Have a great day! Be blessed!
“But if we confess our sins to Him, He can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins.” (I John 1:9 The Living Bible)