We carry around secrets. Those secrets are heavy burdens for us. We don’t want anyone to know our pasts or to be defined by our worst actions. We shudder at the thought of others in our study group, PTA or bowling league being fully aware of our lives that might include violence, sexual assault, abuse, drunkenness and the other stuff we have done. We fear what might happen to us if they found out the truth about us. But God knows everything about us. We can’t hide anything from Him. This is not a scary thought for us who love Him. It is a hopeful and comforting fact. In our hearts, we wish to be completely known and open and honest with Him. We long to lose our illusions, expose our deceptions, face the facts of our lives, confront our fears, and admit our failures. We crave to be loved by someone who knows us, accepts us for who we are, and forgives us for Christ’s sake.
God’s love and forgiveness come to us through Christ when we allow God’s Word to penetrate our souls. Then we expose our hearts for the unclean things they are and uncover the sin that is in the deepest corners of our being.
To make this happen, we must confess our sin to God and turn away from it. We need to believe that God’s Word will protect and sustain us. We can strengthen our faith by beginning each day with prayer and time in God’s Word. We need to change the chilly climate of our hearts and cultivate a tender relationship with Jesus. These disciplines will sustain us when we are tempted to flinch and turn away from God’s presence.
There is no need to fear any condemnation from God when we come close and confess our sins. God loves us and died for us even before we sought Him out. That is the wonderful, comforting thing about God’s Grace.
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