When I kept silent my bones wasted away
Through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand
Was heavy on me;
My strength was 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.

Covering things up never works.

My dad told us of the time he stole a comic book from a convenience store, only, as he was leaving, it fell out the bottom of his pant leg. The store owner phoned my grandmother. When she arrived my father told her he had no idea how the comic book ended up in his pants and she believed him! (He was an only child and without a dad at the time – and she was especially gullible!). When he became a Christian at 16 he had to tell her the truth and go back to the store owner and tell him the truth too.

That’s the way to deal with sin. Admit it, confess it, make amends where you can.

Here’s something you can do in prayer today. After you’ve spent some time in gratitude and praise invite the Holy Spirit to bring to mind any sin in your life that remains unconfessed. He will speak to you. Play that memory through in your mind: What needs to be confessed? Who deserves an apology? What, if any, amends need to be made? (If you’re not sure if something is a sin or just a situation that didn’t go as well as you hoped, you could ask a trusted friend for discernment.)

Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against them
And in whose spirit is no deceit.

Praying and confessing with you this day.

Andrew