Time For Honesty

Photo by Andrew Butler on Unsplash

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”—and you forgave the guilt of my sin.   -Psalm 32:3-5

We work so hard to keep our sins hidden from others. We often wear masks of pride and perfectionism to cover the sins and shortcomings in our lives. We even try to hide our sin from an all-knowing God by not addressing them with him. They become the elephant in the room. We don’t address them and we think he isn’t seeing them! 

Oh, how I long to live a portion of the Old Testament today. I love the times in the Bible when the sinners and those who were hurting would approach the throne of God with weeping and wailing. They tore their clothes, covered themselves in ashes and poured out their hearts to the Lord. No shame, no fear of God or man’s disapproval. I love that I am a sinner saved by grace. No shame, no fear!

Are you willing to lay down your pride and mask so that you, like David in this Psalm can be honest with God and at least one other Christian? This Psalm tells us that hiding our sin eats us alive from the inside out. Sin weighs down our hearts, minds, and physical body. It causes our mind to “go crazy” with regret, shame, and fear of being found out. Our hearts become a playground for Satan to lie and shame us. We feel stress, lose weight, and become emotional time bombs.  But most importantly, it distances us from God. It keeps us from the freedom he offers.

Today, let us humble ourselves before the Lord!