Confession Is Good For The Soul (by Pastor Bob Stiles)
Proverbs 28:13 (AMP)
“He who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes his sins will obtain mercy.”
Cover-up! Isn’t that the way many deal with sin? We refuse to tell anybody. We hide our “skeletons” in the closet. We hold onto this fantasy image of ourselves and try to maintain it at all costs. The truth is, we are as sick as our secrets. We can hide things from others, and sometimes from ourselves, but we can never hide anything from God. And as long as we do, we won’t prosper as Proverbs 28:13 says. So it’s crucial that we confess our “skeletons” to God. But why?
Because ultimately, God is the One we have offended. King David wrote Psalm 51 before he wrote Psalm 32, but both psalms are about David’s skeletons. And in Psalm 51:4, David sings to God, “Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” We may even need to make things right with others, but first we need to confess our skeletons to God. What does that involve?
When we confess our sins, we see them from God’s viewpoint. We humbly and honestly say to God, “Father, I have sinned in Your sight. As You already know, I have gossiped about my friends or mistreated my wife or stolen things from work or cheated on my taxes. I admit that what I have done is wrong, and I ask You to forgive me for my sins. With Your help, I will never do that again. And if I need to do so, I will make things right with whomever I have offended.” Without excusing or hiding, we openly and specifically tell God what we have done. David says in Psalm 32:5, “Then I acknowledged my sin to You, and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord …’”
What happens when we confess our “skeletons” to God? David answers that at the end of Psalm 32:5: “… and You forgave the guilt of my sin.” When we confess, God isn’t shocked. He already knows what we’ve done. God forgives, and He forgives every time we confess. If we confess 100% of the time, He forgives 100% of the time. God forgives completely and He forgives immediately. Notice that Proverbs says if we confess and forsake our sin, we will receive…..what? Not judgment. Not condemnation. Not punishment. Not rejection. We receive MERCY! What an awesome promise! The assurance of knowing we will receive mercy gives us the grace to “open the closet doors” in our lives and begin to clean out those skeletons! Praise God for the greatness of His mercy! Receive it from Him today!
Mercy suggestion: Easter is a great time to gather with family and celebrate together. Many people are not able to enjoy that closeness due to such things as geographical distance, or a number of other reasons. Do you know someone, perhaps a friend or co-worker, or someone from church who will be alone this holiday weekend? Take the opportunity to invite them for Easter dinner. What a wonderful expression of kindness to welcome them into the midst of your celebration of our risen Lord!
