The Freedom of Confession
/March 30
Psalm 32
“I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”
Illustration by Gustave Doré
A hallmark of Lent is confession. In fact, a hallmark of Christianity is confession. Throughout the Old and New Testaments and throughout church history, Christians have confessed their sin. Confession can hurt. Confession can be painful. Yet confession is freeing. Confession is liberating. The psalmist writes, “I acknowledged my sins to you, and I did not cover my iniquity.” Regardless of who you are or what you’ve done, our natural reaction is most often to hide our sin. Sin makes us feel guilty, shameful, and fearful. If we hide it, people won’t know about it. But we fail to recognize that our Father in Heaven sees all things. Nothing is hidden from God. And God doesn’t desire our confession to prove himself right. Rather, he longs that our relationship with him might be whole. Despite our belief that we know best, God knows that when we confess our sin to him, our relationship is made whole.
Do you see confession the same way? Do you see it as liberating? Are you trusting that God desires to forgive you of your sin? He doesn’t want to hold your sin over your head. The lie of the Enemy is that you can and should hide your sin. When was the last time you confessed sin to God? He loves us and longs for us to confess our sin and experience what true forgiveness looks like. “When we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9). What’s holding you back? Confess today.
Reflection
- Do you regularly confess your sins to God? If not, why do think you don’t confess your sins regularly?
- What needs to change in your life to make confession of sin a regular part of your life?
- Start today! Spend some time confessing your sin to the Father.