“Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have broken rejoice.” Psalm 51:8

I read this and it hit me so hard. I’ve read Psalm 51 multiple times, but I never noticed that line in verse 8 until the other day. This is the Psalm that David wrote after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba. The entire psalm is David repenting for his sin and asking for forgiveness and mercy, except this line. “Let the bones You have broken rejoice”. At the risk of stating the obvious, sin hurts. Maybe not immediately, but just give it time. Sin causes pain, heartache, and death. It hurts those around us, it hurts ourselves, and it hurts God. Yes, God will still love and forgive you. But that doesn’t take all of the pain of that sin away.

Sin breaks bones, but we should be able to rejoice even with our broken bones. Why should we rejoice? Because He loves us enough to discipline us. It says in Proverbs 3:12, “The Lord disciplines those He loves.” We should rejoice that He loves us so much, He is willing to teach us even when it hurts. David knew what he did was wrong, and he had to deal with the consequences of those actions. God doesn’t want us to hurt ourselves again. He knows what sin does to our hearts, and He wants to protect us from that.

The thing about bones is that when they’re broken, they only hurt for a while. Then they heal. Sometimes it takes weeks, other times months. One thing is for certain: they will heal. No matter how broken you are or how badly you messed up, He can heal you. That alone is a reason to rejoice, but we can take comfort in the fact that not only can He, but He will! He will heal your broken bones and make you new again. All you have to do is repent and ask Him. David, even after all he did, was still called “A Man After God’s Own Heart”. No matter what we do, we can still be redeemed.

Your broken bones can be healed. Let them rejoice.