Stories rarely end in expected ways. This was a lesson I learned as a high school English teacher. One of the most surprising tragedies for me was a classic American novel where a preacher named Arthur withered away physically because he lived overwhelmed by a secret. His sad tale could have turned out much differently, but he had covered up his sin and crushed his soul. Not releasing the weight of his guilt and shame had destroyed his life.
This painful story was a work of fiction, but the narrative often plays out in real life.
The enemy of our soul loves to keep us in bondage to self-condemnation.
He knows the dark stain of our sin cannot be wiped away if we continue to foolishly withhold our hearts from the light of God’s grace. The father of lies tells us we should never disclose the truth and confess our sin to God, but hiding from God only leads us to more heartache.
King David was a man whose heart had been shattered because he had failed to fully obey God. After turning to God in repentance, he writes this psalm from personal experience to help us avoid his mistake. He had lived in agony when he covered up his sin from God, and he did not want anyone else to live with such unnecessary anguish and despair. He describes for us a physical torment that impaired every cell in his body and led to a total breakdown. But the physical suffering was really only a symptom of the emotional and mental misery consuming him from within. Unconfessed sin is a malignant force that poisons us and leads to death.
Confession means we agree with God. We grieve over our sin, turn from our willful rebellion, and align our lives with what God says is true. A transformation takes place in our hearts as we take steps to
Acknowledge we have disobeyed God.
“Then I confessed my sin….” (Psalm 32:5a)
Stop concealing our sin.
“…I no longer covered up my wrongdoing…” (Psalm 32:5b)
Speak the truth and align our lives to what honors God.
“…I said, ‘I will confess my rebellious acts to the Lord…’” (Psalm 32:5c)
Confessing our sin frees us to have fellowship with our Heavenly Father. The hero of our story is Yahweh, and He always redeems and seeks to restore the brokenness in our lives. When we stop running away from God in rebellion, He takes our guilt, shame, and fear and replaces it with His joy, peace, and love. The heavy weight of our sin is removed, and we can fully live the abundant life He designed for us.
Friend, trying to keep sin a secret only leads to regret. We expect that we will face harsh punishment and shame for our disobedience, but the Lord doesn’t write stories the way we do.
God sees us with eyes of mercy. He never fails to cover us with His compassion if we ask Him for forgiveness. When we open up our lives to Him and confess our need for His grace, that is when our guilt-ridden lives transform into glory stories.
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Join us as we study God’s Word using the Lent study!
Grab your journal today and dive in!
