“Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.”
— Psalm 32:5 (NLT)
We often do things with our sins other than confess them. We make excuses for ourselves. (“I shouldn’t have smarted off to my mom, but I’m just so tired.”) We cover it up. (We hide a new shirt in the back of the closet, the one we bought instead of the school book we needed.) We “forget” the sin. (After gossiping about our friend, we cover the guilty feeling by quickly focusing on a TV show.) Do the sins go away, along with the consequences? No. Your mom is still mad. You still need that book for class. Your friend is hurt when the gossip gets back to her.
When you carry around unconfessed sin, it’s like hiding some forbidden food in your room. It’s “out of sight, out of mind” for a while — until it spoils and starts to stink. Sin doesn’t stay hidden forever either.
So ’fess up! It will remove the guilt from your conscience, give you peace in your heart, and spark a determination not to do that thing again.
More to Explore: 2 Samuel 24:10 and Psalm 86:5
Girl Talk: Do you have sin that is hidden away in your heart? Tell it all to God and ask for forgiveness.
God Talk: “Lord, I have done something I’m not proud of, and I need to confess it to you. I’m so sorry I . Thank you for forgiving me every time I ask. Amen.”
From No Boys Allowed by Kristi Holl