Military Devotion – The Most Powerful Words You Can Say – September 4, 2026

“The one thing you do not want to do as the captain of a Navy ship is to run into another ship.” This struck me as I sat in the captain’s chair and listened to the docent on the USS Midway museum here in San Diego. That one mistake will cost you command of that ship. Somone else will take your place. It will make national headlines. In that moment, what words would you need to hear?  

King David was commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the nation of Israel. He did the one thing a leader should not do. He had an affair with a married man’s wife. He impregnated her. Then he added to the crime. He murdered her husband through a strategic placement in combat operations to cover it up.   

And it eventually made national headlines. But before it did, a trusted friend to the king lovingly, but firmly, pointed out his guilt. Ultimately David’s sin was against his God. David believed the lie that his desires were of greater importance than God’s will for him to practice self-control and be above reproach. His friend wanted David to know this, that he had sinned against God and that David deserved to die. In that moment, what words would David need to hear?  

David wrote about his emotional and spiritual rollercoaster ride in Psalm 32. He described how troubled he was by what he had done. It affected him physically and mentally. It grieved his soul. Then he wrote, “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD” (Psalm 32:5). And what was the LORD’s response? “And you forgave the guilt of my sin.” David knew this through the words of his trusted friend Nathan. The most powerful words a friend could say.  

My friends, I know that you have good Christian friends who have made mistakes, some big and some small—at least in the eyes of the world. Have you called them to repent? I would encourage you to do so, because this is what Jesus would have us do. Out of love for their soul, give them that safe, confidential place to confess their sin to you. So that you, with a smile on your face, might say to them the most powerful words you can say to anyone, “My friend, your sin is forgiven. For Jesus has become your guilt. And you have become his righteousness. You will not die but live.”  

And then together recite the words of King David, “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against him” (Psalm 32:1).