Repentance
“When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’—and you forgave me the guilt of my sin.†– Psalm 32:3-5 (NIV)
Ever had a time when you felt the weight of guilt crushing you and sapping your strength like King David describes in Psalm 32? I certainly have. There is a heaviness of heart and distance from God that results when we choose to disobey Him and go our own way. Typically, my first response is much like David’s: I cover up my sin and try to forget about it. If that doesn’t work, I get defensive and try to justify it.
But as we see above, God doesn’t want us burying our guilt or justifying our sin. He simply asks that we acknowledge our shortcomings, repent of our sin, and be reconciled to Him. It takes a humble heart to come crawling back to the Father after selfishly and stubbornly turning our backs to Him, but only then do we find forgiveness and re-enter the joyful, fulfilling life God has in store for us.
As vtONE approaches, prepare to worship the Lord in freedom and joy with no business left undone. Confess any sin that you may be trying to bury alive or justify, and He will forgive your sins and purify you from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)