For this reason, all who know You should pray to You while they still can. When troubles rise like a flood, they shall not reach them. You are my hiding place. You protect me from my troubles and fill me with songs of salvation. (vs. 6-7)
We who have been steeped in Christianity for many years understand the difficulty of being real with ourselves about our sins. That is because "others" commit adultery, drink too much, abuse their kids, gossip, cheat, steal, watch porn, or lie. We? We know better. So, when we catch ourselves involved in sin, we usually hide it because we think we are the only Christians in our church who are struggling. Churchgoers are not supposed to have the same besetting problems as the world does. It is often a nearly impossible environment in which to be transparent. The reality is, though, that we are human beings who understand their need for God and allow Him to transform us into His image. But, we still have a need to be transformed! Better to confess our frailty than to ignore it. We aren't fooling the world. They see our hypocrisy. So, while you still can, before you lose everything dear to you because you have kept your sin a secret, confess it to someone safe.
Hilarious, really, that we think God won't see. The longer we involve ourselves in a sin, the easier it is to justify it. There is no light on it so we go on and on. But the soul dries up. We cannot look God in the face....or if we think we still can, we don't understand our relationship with Him. We cannot trust that He will hear us because we have traveled so far afield. We have lost confidence that He will come through for us. Don't get me wrong! I don't think for a minute that He no longer loves us when we sin. But we have broken the integrity of the relationship we have with Him. Eventually, just like infidelity in a marriage or the all-consuming ramifications of drug/alcohol addiction, we switch loyalties. That breaks the heart of God just as it breaks the heart of a husband.
"Even the prophets and priests all tell lies. They tried to heal my people's serious injuries as if they were small wounds. They said, 'It's all right. It's all right.' But, really, it's not all right. They should be ashamed of the terrible way they act, but they are not ashamed at all. They don't even know how to blush about their sins......Stand where the roads cross and look! Ask where the old way is - where the good way is, and walk on it! If you do, you will find rest for yourselves." God, Jeremiah 6
"But suppose the wicked stop doing all the sins they have done and obey all my rules and do what is fair and right. Then they will surely live. They shall not die. Their sins will be forgotten! ...I do not really want the wicked to die," says the Lord. "I want them to stop their bad ways and live!"....
"Change your hearts and stop all your sinning so sin will not bring your ruin. Get rid of the sins you have done and get for yourselves a new heart and a new way of thinking." God. Ezekiel 18
Ever carried guilt around? Boy, I sure have. And you think the one you have sinned against, especially God, will never see you the same way after you let her know you are deeply flawed. And, frankly, sometimes she doesn't. Some people cannot take the fact that we are human. I hate it, too. But I am. I truly believe that, given the right (wrong) circumstances, we are all capable of any heinous thing. And, unless we know that, we are doomed to covering our transgressions in self-righteousness.....And God hates that more than anything!
Heather, our oldest child, was in her two's when she came into the living room where the little ruler we called a "rod" hung from the side of the fireplace on a nail. We never beat her with it, but she had had her hand slapped a few times for getting too close to the fire or for other harmful infractions. I was in the kitchen making bread when Heather came and pulled my shirt and took me over to the rod. I took it down so she could look at it. That is not what she wanted. Punishment was her desire. She had done something she knew was wrong and just wanted to be done with the guilt of it. I took her in my arms, and held her and kissed her. I had no idea what she'd done and wasn't about to spank her for anything.
"I sorry, Mommy," she said.
It did not matter what she was repenting from. She just wanted to have a free heart to run and play without thinking about the matter any more.
Saved herself a heap of trouble, probably. I still don't know what she did. Forgot all about it. Because her heart was tender toward obedience and sensitive to her sin. That is all our Father wants. A quick, "I'm sorry." Then we can live in the freedom of our relationship with Him and in the assurance that when the floods rise, He will take us up. Delivered from guilt! Sins vanquished! We can sing, "I know my Redeemer lives!" We can point to the rod before He has to be free to run and play.
We who have been steeped in Christianity for many years understand the difficulty of being real with ourselves about our sins. That is because "others" commit adultery, drink too much, abuse their kids, gossip, cheat, steal, watch porn, or lie. We? We know better. So, when we catch ourselves involved in sin, we usually hide it because we think we are the only Christians in our church who are struggling. Churchgoers are not supposed to have the same besetting problems as the world does. It is often a nearly impossible environment in which to be transparent. The reality is, though, that we are human beings who understand their need for God and allow Him to transform us into His image. But, we still have a need to be transformed! Better to confess our frailty than to ignore it. We aren't fooling the world. They see our hypocrisy. So, while you still can, before you lose everything dear to you because you have kept your sin a secret, confess it to someone safe.
Hilarious, really, that we think God won't see. The longer we involve ourselves in a sin, the easier it is to justify it. There is no light on it so we go on and on. But the soul dries up. We cannot look God in the face....or if we think we still can, we don't understand our relationship with Him. We cannot trust that He will hear us because we have traveled so far afield. We have lost confidence that He will come through for us. Don't get me wrong! I don't think for a minute that He no longer loves us when we sin. But we have broken the integrity of the relationship we have with Him. Eventually, just like infidelity in a marriage or the all-consuming ramifications of drug/alcohol addiction, we switch loyalties. That breaks the heart of God just as it breaks the heart of a husband.
"Even the prophets and priests all tell lies. They tried to heal my people's serious injuries as if they were small wounds. They said, 'It's all right. It's all right.' But, really, it's not all right. They should be ashamed of the terrible way they act, but they are not ashamed at all. They don't even know how to blush about their sins......Stand where the roads cross and look! Ask where the old way is - where the good way is, and walk on it! If you do, you will find rest for yourselves." God, Jeremiah 6
"But suppose the wicked stop doing all the sins they have done and obey all my rules and do what is fair and right. Then they will surely live. They shall not die. Their sins will be forgotten! ...I do not really want the wicked to die," says the Lord. "I want them to stop their bad ways and live!"....
"Change your hearts and stop all your sinning so sin will not bring your ruin. Get rid of the sins you have done and get for yourselves a new heart and a new way of thinking." God. Ezekiel 18
Ever carried guilt around? Boy, I sure have. And you think the one you have sinned against, especially God, will never see you the same way after you let her know you are deeply flawed. And, frankly, sometimes she doesn't. Some people cannot take the fact that we are human. I hate it, too. But I am. I truly believe that, given the right (wrong) circumstances, we are all capable of any heinous thing. And, unless we know that, we are doomed to covering our transgressions in self-righteousness.....And God hates that more than anything!
Heather, our oldest child, was in her two's when she came into the living room where the little ruler we called a "rod" hung from the side of the fireplace on a nail. We never beat her with it, but she had had her hand slapped a few times for getting too close to the fire or for other harmful infractions. I was in the kitchen making bread when Heather came and pulled my shirt and took me over to the rod. I took it down so she could look at it. That is not what she wanted. Punishment was her desire. She had done something she knew was wrong and just wanted to be done with the guilt of it. I took her in my arms, and held her and kissed her. I had no idea what she'd done and wasn't about to spank her for anything.
"I sorry, Mommy," she said.
It did not matter what she was repenting from. She just wanted to have a free heart to run and play without thinking about the matter any more.
Saved herself a heap of trouble, probably. I still don't know what she did. Forgot all about it. Because her heart was tender toward obedience and sensitive to her sin. That is all our Father wants. A quick, "I'm sorry." Then we can live in the freedom of our relationship with Him and in the assurance that when the floods rise, He will take us up. Delivered from guilt! Sins vanquished! We can sing, "I know my Redeemer lives!" We can point to the rod before He has to be free to run and play.
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