Confession

To confess something is to “own it”, acknowledge it, admit or agree that it’s true. When I confess my sins to the Lord, I’m agreeing with Him that what I did was wrong. It is very helpful for me to confess my sins verbally and hear myself say the things I’ve done. I have written out my sins as well and that is even more disturbing. Seeing my sin on paper makes it a bit more “concrete” and real.  There is something very helpful about confession. It unburdens my heart before the Lord.  I’m not sure my relationships could function without confession. If I wrong someone, I need to own it and apologize for it. Confession leads to repentance.

Ezra had learned of the sin of many of the people in exile with him. He is stunned and broken before the Lord. He then begins to pray a lengthy prayer of confession.  He clearly calls out their sin. Check this out…

⁸ “But now we have been given a brief moment of grace, for the Lord our God has allowed a few of us to survive as a remnant. He has given us security in this holy place. Our God has brightened our eyes and granted us some relief from our slavery. ⁹ For we were slaves, but in his unfailing love our God did not abandon us in our slavery. Instead, he caused the kings of Persia to treat us favorably. He revived us so we could rebuild the Temple of our God and repair its ruins. He has given us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁵ O Lord, God of Israel, you are just. We come before you in our guilt as nothing but an escaped remnant, though in such a condition none of us can stand in your presence.” (Ezra 9:8-9,15 NLT)

I remember a phrase that I heard years ago regarding a person in leadership who had sinned against his family and against the church where he was a leader. He confessed and repented and wanted to be restored to leadership as soon as possible. My friend and colleague in ministry said, “When your repentance cries out louder than your sin, restoration can begin”.  I need to live in a state of confession and repentance. I need daily forgiveness and restoration of my soul.

My confession and repentance clears the way for the Lord to clean the crap out of my heart and make way more room for Him to dwell.  I’m so thankful for His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness and His restoration.

Pressing On!

Dwayne