The Power of Confession
When events and feelings are kept hidden in our hearts they can weigh us down like a ton of bricks. It can make it hard to sleep at night and they can even affect our health. Relationships are strained when problems go unresolved. Years and years can go by while the whole time we are being held captive by knowledge.
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long Psalm 32:3
Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief Proverbs 14:13
Confession is the act of letting that information go.
Think of the last time you said, “It felt good to get that off my chest.” It did! Didn’t it?
For believers in Jesus Christ we know that we can confess our sins to God at anytime and he will forgive us. There is peace we can receive from that. But the bible also contains evidence for explaining the events of our lives to each other. The truth is that both are necessary.
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:9
When Jesus talks with the woman at the well, he lays her past out in front of her. Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true."
Jesus was releasing this hidden information showing he was a prophet but also releasing this woman from the bondage her secrets had on her. It was then that she could really believe that Jesus was the Son of God and be saved.
The act of confessing is the same reason why testimonies are so powerful. When a person is honest and allowed to be open about their lives there is a freedom. The listener understands that God is at work and for some people God has gone to some very dark places to find them. We can all rejoice together now that the information is out. Don’t be afraid to share your testimony.
Jesus talks in John 3, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."
Confession is bringing our deeds to the Light and allowing them to be seen for what they are. If they are not of God then we ask they be taken away. Why hold onto things that will only hinder your relationship with God and others?
Perhaps you’ve been holding onto something for a long time. There is no better moment than now to confess. Find someone, a believer in Jesus Christ you can trust, and confess that information. If it is against a person, then find them and confess. If it has been kept down for awhile it might be pretty painful but in the end God will bless it.
The caution is be careful who you confess to because information in the wrong hands can be damaging. But once you have found the right person, go for it. And remember to be honest where you are at when sharing your testimony. Nothing more beautiful than a person’s heart laid open at the foot of the cross.
Let it go! Confess!
Praise God!