Thursday, August 18, 2011

Confession Lightens Heart

Nothing in all creation can hide from him. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done. -- Hebrews 4:13

The woman defended herself despite the evidence that she’d taken thousands of dollars meant for a family with a sick child. “God knows,” she told anyone who would listen.

Yes, He does. We can’t hide anything from God. That includes whatever it is we’re trying to hide from the world. God knows our hearts and He knows everything we do, right and wrong. We can’t hide our sins from Him anymore than Adam and Eve could hide their nakedness.

This woman’s fate is up to the courts. But she’ll have to live with the consequences long after the matter is settled. If she is indeed guilty, it won’t leave her until she confesses and does what she can to make it right.

When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long. -- Psalm 32:3

David knew a little bit about guilt. This is the man who slept with another man’s wife, then, when she became pregnant, David had her husband killed. He felt the weight of that sin. It’s evident in his words.

This woman will feel the weight of her sin as well. We all do because we’re all sinners. Trying to keep it hidden, pretending that it isn’t true, only makes us suffer more.

Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. -- Psalm 32:5

What a blessed relief to lay it all before God! Oh, we still must suffer the consequences of our sins but our guilt is gone. God takes it away and shoves it behind His back. We are free from that awful, heavy burden.

Only God knows this woman’s heart. He knows her motivations, her intentions, her guilt or innocence. But if she is guilty, she’ll either confess and find His healing or the burden of her sin will destroy her inside and out.