Confess and be free (4)
Tuesday 20th November 2018
'You forgave me! All my guilt is gone.' Psalm 32:5 NLT
Let's be clear about this: nobody is perfect. Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, 'Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins' (NLT). Only Jesus can claim never to have sinned. And yet, when we've done something wrong, we feel like the only person in the world who's made that mistake. Guilt makes us feel lonely. We don't want to open up to anyone, so we isolate ourselves. We think others will judge us or reject us for what we've done. (If we're honest, we may have avoided someone when we discovered some less-than-great fact about them!)
So we put on the 'everything's fine' mask, while secretly carrying that guilt inside us. It's humbling and uncomfortable to own up about the things we've done wrong. But the Bible says, 'A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in times of need' (Proverbs 17:17 NLT). If we decided to open up about our mistakes, maybe some would turn away from us. We might also be surprised to find out who would stick with us.
We can be certain that God won't turn away from us. He's told us, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you' (Hebrews 13:5 NIV). God is our truest and most faithful friend. Even if it is intimidating to confess to our perfect God, we can be confident he'll welcome us and draw us close to him when we do.
So what now? As you pray today, talk to God as if you're talking to your most trusted friend. Because that's who he is.
Tuesday 20th November 2018
'You forgave me! All my guilt is gone.' Psalm 32:5 NLT
Let's be clear about this: nobody is perfect. Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, 'Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins' (NLT). Only Jesus can claim never to have sinned. And yet, when we've done something wrong, we feel like the only person in the world who's made that mistake. Guilt makes us feel lonely. We don't want to open up to anyone, so we isolate ourselves. We think others will judge us or reject us for what we've done. (If we're honest, we may have avoided someone when we discovered some less-than-great fact about them!)
So we put on the 'everything's fine' mask, while secretly carrying that guilt inside us. It's humbling and uncomfortable to own up about the things we've done wrong. But the Bible says, 'A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in times of need' (Proverbs 17:17 NLT). If we decided to open up about our mistakes, maybe some would turn away from us. We might also be surprised to find out who would stick with us.
We can be certain that God won't turn away from us. He's told us, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you' (Hebrews 13:5 NIV). God is our truest and most faithful friend. Even if it is intimidating to confess to our perfect God, we can be confident he'll welcome us and draw us close to him when we do.
So what now? As you pray today, talk to God as if you're talking to your most trusted friend. Because that's who he is.
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