Encounter

"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 was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah
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

The old expression is, "Confession is good for the soul." Truth is, it is good for every aspect of our being. The Psalmist shows us that here in verse 3. The New Living Translation says it this way, "When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable."

I am not one to suggest we walk around and barf our emotions and weaknesses and shortcomings out onto every one we meet.

I also do not believe we have to walk around in shame before God all the time. The Bible also tells us we can stand boldly before the throne because of Christ.

I do want to suggest that we must be willing to ask the hard questions of ourselves and then be willing to deal straight with the answers. We are imperfect. We must be able to confront our own shortcomings and as God enables and strengthens us along with our decisions and willpower, we must overcome our shortfalls and sin. But, it can only happen after we confess and get it out in the open. We cannot bottle it up or suppress it. This will only cause us grief and pain. Besides, God knows about it anyway, so the only one we are fooling is self.

Getting things out in the open is a relative term. The confession should not, in most cases, go beyond the level of the sin. Meaning, we don't need to confess sin to someone who is not aware the sin took place. There are exceptions, but they are few. Most of the time we only need to confess before God and those few who witnessed or are keenly aware of our transgressions.

In leadership, there are times when the sin is well known. The sin of pride would be a perfect example. When a leader is filled with pride and has stopped receiving correction, it is usually obvious to everyone around them. This is a case for public confession.

Most of the time, we simply need to be honest with ourselves and open before God and get it out and dealt with so we can move on in Him. He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Just a few quick thoughts that come to mind as I read Psalm 32 last night.