e-votional
a message to encourage and uplift from College Heights Baptist Church
Wednesday April 22, 2009
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3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
Through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah . 5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD“;
And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. – Psalm 32:3-5, NASB
We all struggle to admit when we are wrong. We tend to excuse, justify, or outright deny our wrongdoing. We blame someone else. We claim extenuating circumstances. We fervently insist it never happened. Anything but take responsibility. We just don’t like being in the wrong.
Israel’s King David had committed adultery and murder. He had worked hard to cover up his sin. He tried to hide it from others, and he tried to hide it from God. Eventually, a prophet named Nathan confronted David about his sin. David realized that people knew. More importantly, he was reminded that God knew. So, he poured his heart out to God in confession.
As he does, he speaks of the consequences he bore in his silence. In his great cover-up, David suffered. Physically, the stress and the guilt of his actions took their toll. He speaks of his body wasting away and how he groaned all the time. He had no strength, no vitality. Like someone who was paralyzed by the heat of summer, David was crippled by his unconfessed sin. No peace. No joy. Nothing but heartache and misery.
Then, the breakthrough came. No more time for games and pretenses. He pours his heart out to God. He confessed his sin. He agreed with God that what he did was wrong and hurtful. He recognized that his sin was against God. And, as he confessed, something wonderful happened. The burden began to be lifted from his life. The emotional weight that had pressed down upon him was lifted. The spiritual darkness that had enshrouded him had been removed. He had been forgiven.
The Bible reminds us of the importance of confession. We have a need to be open and honest with God. We need to agree with Him that our shortcomings are there and need to be dealt with. That’s the basic meaning of confession. It means that we agree with God that what we did was wrong. When we confess, we’re not telling God something that He doesn’t already know. We are simply agreeing with Him that we have done is wrong. We are acknowledging that we indeed have sinned. In that confession comes peace. There comes the assurance that God has indeed heard and He indeed forgives (1 John 1:9). It doesn’t matter the size or the scope of the sin. God already knows it. He has already paid the price for it. He has already offered forgiveness for it. He simply wants us to understand that what we did was wrong. He wants us to realize that our behavior was outside His boundaries and violated His standards. He wants us to let Him change what we do.
In our confession, we can enjoy the peace that comes with a restored relationship with our Heavenly Father. There is no point trying to cover up our sin. We can’t blame it on someone else. We need to take responsibility for it. We need to let God change our behavior and to accept His forgiveness. Let’s be honest with God about what we’ve done. When we are, it’s amazing the change He makes in our lives.
Pastor Darrell
