Restoration

Proverbs 28:13

“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

Have you ever done something wrong and decided it would just be better to be quiet about it?  What is the harm if nothing is said?  Do you recall the feelings that followed the decision to be quiet about your mistake?  The thoughts of the wrong doing creep back into one’s mind over and over again.  It is there reminding you that what you did was wrong.  There is a sense of guilt; no relief because forgiveness has not been given.

Psalm 32:3 notes, “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.”  Those words paint a very vivid picture.  Our bones are wasting away because we choose to be silent.  It is almost as if we are dying from the inside out.  We are carrying this burden around with us that weigh us down when in reality we don’t have to carry the burden.  We don’t need that weight on our shoulders; for in the second half of Proverbs 28:13 notes, “he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy”.  The burden and weight will be lifted.  We have mercy!

If you continue reading in Psalm 32, just a couple verses farther it notes, “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” (Verse 5)  It is interesting how different the picture is when you read just two more verses.  We confess to the Lord and He forgave us!  We don’t have to be wasting away!  We don’t have to be groaning all day long!  We don’t have to conceal our transgressions and not prosper!  We have been forgiven.

John talks about this very thing in 1 John 1:8-10.  Verse 8 – “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”  Another risk we run when not confessing is that we start to believe we don’t do anything wrong.  If we start thinking that, then the truth is not in us!  The truth is not just what happened surrounding the circumstances, it is also Christ.  He is the Truth!  Verse 10 states, “If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.”  If we believe we have not sinned then we are calling God a liar.  He stated in Romans, “For ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory.”  (3:23)  Along with that, Christ did not need to suffer for us if we have not sinned.  So in verse 9 in notes, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

Don’t hang on to the sin!  Let it go and restore your health!  Open your heart and ask for forgiveness.  You have been given the most amazing gift ever.  Embrace that gift which Christ gave!

Cheryl