A Clean Slate

Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.

Psalm 32:5

IF YOU LET GARBAGE PILE UP, it begins to stink. It’s the same with unconfessed sin. Pretending it isn’t there or hoping it will somehow go away on its own does absolutely nothing to remove the growing stench that results when we don’t confess our sins to God and ask for His forgiveness. The truth is that sin must be dealt with, or our relationship with God will feel unnecessarily distant and unsatisfying.

The enemy would have us believe that sinning isn’t a big deal. Then, when we do sin, he is quick to heap on the guilt and condemnation. The problem is, we don’t recognize that it’s the devil. Sometimes, we actually imagine God up in heaven with His arms crossed and a ticked-off look on His face, thinking of ways to teach us a lesson. And instead of immediately doing the one thing that will solve the problem—come clean, confess to God that we’ve sinned, and ask for His forgiveness—we wallow in our guilt, feeling miserable.

The main reason we don’t confess our sins is that we really don’t believe that God is as gracious as the Bible says He is. Nothing in this world prepares us for the amazing grace that God offers. It seems too good to be true. So we hide. We duck and dodge rather than face the music. But we’re wrong. That’s not who God is. He delights in forgiving us. He longs to give us a clean slate and a clear conscience.

BOTTOM LINE

Someone has said that “to admit our sin is positively the most cheerful thing any of us can do.” Do you believe that? Are you willing to come clean?

Moment of Strength: Psalm 32