What joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Psalm 32:2-5

 

It’s that sickening feeling in your gut. You know full well you’ve done something wrong, Guilt is clinging to your conscience.

Perhaps you’re not yet sure if you’re ever going to confess, but you hate the way it feels. That feeling of remorse welling up can be the work of God’s Spirit, teaching us to hate wrong actions and driving us to run back to the light. God’s conviction in our lives doesn’t always feel good– it’s like the nudging of a shepherd’s staff as He prods us off a dangerous path and back to safety. But that sickening weight evaporates the moment we resolve to do the right thing!

A songwriter named David who made a lot of mistakes in his life wrote about the power of confession saying, “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone” (Psalm 32:3-5). David can’t stop talking about the freedom and joy he feels after confessing his sin. He says, “What joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!” (verse 2)

Do you hear those words and long to experience that kind of relief? If there’s sin in your life that you’ve hidden, God invites you to confess it out loud, make amends, and change directions. He doesn’t eliminate the consequences of our past actions, but He promises to forgive us and give us strength as we walk in the freedom of honesty!