Nudges | Three Questions on Direction | Listen to Your Conscience

I will bless the LORD who counsels me; even at night my conscience instructs me.  Psalm 16:7

You’ve twisted the sheet into a knot ten times and the clock still says 3 am. Morning seems a hundred years away. Your failure has taken over your bedroom and mocks you from the dark corners. Regret won’t let you escape into sweet oblivion. How could you have been so stupid? Why did you say that, do that, go there? You used to do worse and it didn’t bother you at all. Why now? What’s changed? Why is your conscience tormenting you as though you’d turned a machine gun on a preschool?

It’s different because you’re following Jesus now. He’s cleansed your past and softened your conscience to better hear His voice. You can’t get away with sin like you used to when your heart was hard and your future was hell. God often uses the stillness of night to speak into our hearts and point out things that don’t belong there like lust, greed, rage, and unforgiveness. Rather than fight against God’s conviction, the Psalmist blesses the Lord for His counsel. He humbly accepts the sorrow that accompanies sin, agrees with God about it, and then receives His full pardon. God lets it hurt a little so that we won’t forget the consequences of disobedience. Then He turns it into instruction that benefits us and transforms us into useful servants.

Final Thought:  When your conscience instructs you, don’t fight it. Surrender to it, receive God’s pardon, and grow from it.

Prayer: Father, I know what that feels like. It’s awful to be convicted about what I did, but instead of letting it condemn me, you want it to instruct me. I accept your forgiveness through Jesus and purpose to learn from it. In His name, Amen