Confession – Innermost Being

In an episode of The Good Faith podcast, David French spoke about five ways to pray for America: for justice, peace, mercy, grace, and reconciliation. Before we can be open to these things, we need to be humbled, and we need to uphold the truth.

Heavenly Father,

The people of the United States need to be humbled. We continually disobey your commandments to love you with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Our leaders are either corrupt and cruel or cowardly and complicit. Most of the people who claim to worship you instead bow down to a false god, a man of lawlessness who claims to be the only one who can save this country.

Americans have always been so proud of our country and of our democratic government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Now, we are throwing away our democracy. Today, we no longer uphold the truth that all men are created equal and are endowed by You with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Lord, we were known around the world for our generosity. Now, our leaders cut off humanitarian aid to foreigners, even destroying food intended for malnourished children. Now, our leaders plan to reduce health and food assistance for the poor so they can grant tax cuts to the wealthy.

We thought we were such an exceptional country that Ronald Reagan called the US a “shining city on the hill.” It was you who inspired these words when you said to your followers: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill can not be hidden.”

The USA is not a shining city on the hill. It never was. There’s nothing new to see here. Today, we build cages to imprison migrants, as we once built internment camps for Japanese Americans. The country has once again been overcome by darkness, fueled by the hatred of people of color.

We have a wicked past. White Americans murdered Native Americans and stole their land. The country’s economic prosperity was built on the blood and backs of slaves. The government may try to erase the sins of our past, but they are not hidden from you.

Lord, show us our brokenness. Bring us to our knees. Search our hearts and reveal the sins that break yours. Heal this country.

Amen.

****

2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Philippians 2:3 NIV
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves..

Matthew 23:12 NIV
For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted

My church studied 1 John in a sermon series called “Living Deep.” My pastor then gave us a list of practical steps to help us go deeper in our faith. I am slowly making my way through the list and am now on step six, “Come out of hiding and confess the reality of being broken.”

I am not a Catholic so I have never “been to confession.” I have no idea what it is like to confess my wrongs to a priest. When I became a Christian, I learned that “if we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” I confess my sins to God directly because Jesus intercedes for me.

Come out of hiding. Many of us want to hide our sins because we feel guilty and are ashamed. But there is no point in trying to hide from God. He is all-seeing and all-knowing. In one of my favorite psalms (Psalm 139), David wrote that God knows everything I do. He knows my every thought. He knows what I’m going to say before I say it. God created my inmost being and knows everything about me. God is everywhere. It is impossible to hide or flee from his presence.

You, God, know my folly; my guilt is not hidden from you (Psalm 69:5).

For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil (Eccl. 12:14).

He who conceals his sins does not prosper but whoever confesses and renounces finds mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)

Sometimes we sin willfully and sometimes we don’t even know that we are sinning. For example, we may not be aware of our own pride. We often excuse the same selfish behavior in ourselves that offends us when we see it in others. God knows ever corner of our hearts. We can ask him to show us our hidden faults and to reveal the ways we offend him.

But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. (Psalm 19:12)

See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:24)

Be honest. Just as there is no point in trying to hide from God, there is no point in lying about our sins and our struggles. There is no point in pretending to be better than we really are with anyone, but especially with God. He sees right through the kind of hypocrisy that Jesus called out. We can be real with God because he can’t be shocked by what he already knows.

In Psalm 139, David admits that he hates those that hate God. He counts the enemies of God as his personal enemies. I don’t find permission to hate anyone in David’s confession; I find the freedom to be completely honest with God about my feelings about wicked people. I am ashamed of myself when I catch myself hating God’s enemy, a man who opposes and exalts himself above all that is good, a man who sows deception, hatred and division. My heart convicts me because Jesus holds me to a higher standard – love your enemies. Getting real with God, I can say, God please help me not to feel this way.

Confess your brokenness. Confession starts with recognizing our brokenness before God. Many people don’t confess their sins because they think, I am not as bad as other people. They don’t understand that we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Too often, the sin of pride gets in the way of admitting out failure to live up to God’s perfect ways. People avoid facing the reality that they are broken because it’s painful and messy.

Confessing our brokenness is good for the soul. Confession breaks the spirit so that it is open to being transformed by God. It puts us in the right posture before God – humble and contrite. God is pleased when we come to him with a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17).

We Are All Broken. That’s How the Light Gets In.

It is only when we confess our sins and renounce them that we receive God’s mercy and forgiveness. It is only when we confess our sins and repent that God can give us a new heart and a new spirit.

Reading List

Psalm 139:16-24
Proverbs 28:13
Ezekiel 36:26-28
Matthew 11:28
Galatians 3:4-7
1 John 1:9,4:16-18

Tag: Confession

Humble us, Lord

Come out of hiding and confess your brokenness

We Are All Broken. That’s How the Light Gets In.