I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. Psalm 32:5
Suppose that three months ago you chose to live totally for God. And since that day you've lived for Jesus in a no-compromise way. That was before today.
Kicking the stitching out of a soccer ball seemed like a good way to unwind and get rid of your frustration after your horrible day. So you kicked the ball once. Twice. About a thousand times. And with each shot, you took target practice on the tulips growing against the garage of the nice old lady next door.
You blew it. You know it. So what are you going to do about it?
Talk about it: What could you do to make things right if you hammered the heads off your neighbor's prized tulips?
We can't put flowers back together. But we can start by saying we're sorry. We can help pick up the mess we made. And the moment we realize we've blown it, we have another huge job. We need to talk to God about our disobedience.
When we confess our sin, we admit to God that we've done wrong. We tell him we want nothing to do with sinning again. And when we ask for God's forgiveness, we can be sure we receive it. Listen to the promise of 1 John 1:8-9: "If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong." Every wrong. Gone!
When we admit our sins to God, we can be sure that everything is right between us and God. Trying to hide sin from God is a bad idea. In the psalm you read today, you saw that King David knew what it was like not only to have done wrong but also to have tried to hide his sins from God. He felt weak and miserable.
Hiding sin is uncomfortable. But a fantastic thing happens when we get our sin straightened out with God. He helps us change! It doesn't honor God for his children to go around trimming other people's tulips with a soccer ball. So when he forgives us, he sends us spiritual power through the Holy Spirit, who helps us overcome our tendency to sin. As Galatians 5:16 says, "Live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves."
When you blow it, admit it and allow God to change you. Then you're really letting Jesus have control of your life!
TALK: How does God help us when we get sin straightened out with him?
PRAY: Invite the Holy Spirit today to remake every area of your life.
ACT: Have you made any messes lately that you haven't cleaned up—with God or other people? Confess your wrongs to God and ask him how to move ahead.
