"So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. ." (1 John 1:6 NLT)
As believers, unconfessed sin obstructs the light of God in our life. It’s like walking around in the sun with a black trash bag over our heads. Sin suffocates our relationship with the Father.
Death slowly comes for us in that trash bag. Think about what happens to things that don’t receive sunlight: they brown and wither. They are robbed of moisture and nutrients. Left too long, decay sets in.
The same is true of our soul. Unconfessed sin cuts us off from the love of God. It blocks our life from His light and living water. We begin to emaciate, shriveling into ourselves in the very worst way.
My Upper Zoom group has been talking about confession this week. It seems to be a ritual the protestants threw off in their leave from Catholicism, but we’re wondering if we shouldn’t reinstate it, at least personally. We don’t require a priest, but we certainly require a rhythm. Otherwise we can go weeks and even years with unconfessed sin rotting our our soul and interfering with our fellowship with God.
When we confess, we tear away the trash bag. The healing light of the Father’s love pours in, restoring breath and life. We are restored spiritually and relationally.
"If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." (1 John 1:8-9 NLT)
Lord, search our hearts today. Find any offensive way in us. Help us tear off the trash bag as we seek to bare our souls to You. Flood our lives with light and hope anew. Give us a burden to practice confession daily; we don't want to gain any ground away from You. Amen.