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Our Confession Leads to God’s Healing

How skilled are you at admitting you are wrong? When I was early on in my marriage, I struggled to admit any fault or wrongdoing in a conflict. My “apologies” were often half-hearted and did not lead to real and long-lasting change. It took years before I could truly admit to my mistakes and take the necessary steps to enact real change.

Why are some of us so reluctant to admit our errors, our sins, to those closest to us? How come we struggle to confess our sins to God? It probably has to do with our view of God. Belief in a forgiving, healing God provides a safe atmosphere to admit our sins. When we see God in that way, our objections to admitting sin fade away. Unfortunately, that is not how many Christians see Him.

I think we excuse ourselves from admitting sin for a number of reasons. One is that admitting our sins makes us feel like failures. But the truth is, unlike us, God is not shocked that we sin. It does not surprise Him! Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. You are not the only one who sins.

Another error in our thinking is by admitting our sins makes me feel as if God is mad at me. Again, the scope of God’s grace is nothing short of astounding. God is so compassionate that we cannot imagine it. As Paul writes in Romans 8:1, “There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,” and the psalmist writes in Psalm 103:12, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

There are many other reasons why we struggle in confessing our sin but each one is more of an excuse than a valid reason. Frederick Buechner said, “To confess your sins to God is not to tell Him anything he doesn’t already know. Until you confess them, however, they are the abyss between you [and God]. When you confess them, they become the Golden Gate bridge.”

Psalm 103 is ordinarily seen as a bit of a happy, cheery psalm about blessing God. but if you track the references to sins, iniquities, transgressions and healing, you see it also has aspects of confession in it. To the psalmist, however, confession was not about beating himself up, which we tend to do, rather it was remembering God’s goodness. God is not shocked that we are fragile and sinful creatures. God is eager to forgive and heal.

The psalmist begins by asking his readers to remember the benefits of God. He recalls things like the forgiving of sins, healing from diseases, redeeming our lives from the pit, crowning us with love and compassion, satisfying us with good things and renewing our strength (youth) like an eagle.

As you read on in the psalm, verse 6 is often seen as a definition of God’s anger. It seems to indicate that God shows anger, not in meanness or intimidation but by giving consequences for wrongdoing. This is how many of us see God. He is the lawgiver and the punisher when those laws are broken.

But there is more given here in this psalm regarding God’s character. For those who are conscious of their sins and are willing to confess them, there is compassion and grace. To illustrate, the psalmist gives us three images to help us to understand this. Firstly, he asks his readers to see God’s love as greater than the distance between the heavens and the earth. He then tells his readers that their sin is removed as far as the east is from the west and ends off by comparing God’s compassion as a loving father to his children. Do we still see God as the punisher?

The reason God can do that is because He knows how we were formed, because He made us. We were made from the dust of the earth. Our mortality is compared to grass and a flower, that its very existence is only for a season. In verse 16, the writer notes that it only takes a breeze to blow us away and our very existence is erased. That is why confession is so important for us. Our frailty means that although God is compassionate and loving, the window for confession is brief.

But it is also a reminder that the task God has given us, to proclaim the Good News of Jesus, also has a brief window. But within that proclamation, it is also a reminder that we too should be compassionate and loving towards others as to reflect that which God has shown to us.

On a side note, the fear of God is mentioned three times in this psalm, but surrounding each time are the words, love and compassion. This tells me and I believe us that our response to God in fear is the same as responding to love and compassion. As Jesus told the man in reference to the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10, “Go and do likewise.”

You see, confessing our sins focuses us on God and His goodness, not His wrath and judgement. And God’s response to our confession is not just forgiveness, rather it includes purification and transformation. As 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”.

God is in the restoration business. He does it through our confession and His ability to forgive and heal. Jeanne Guyon once said, “God becomes the constant examiner of your soul, but His exams are not shameful, painful events. You’re eager to follow God’s ways, so the “repentance is sweet,” and confession of sin brings love and tranquillity.” If you are struggling with experiencing and living out this truth in your life, take time to meditate on this psalm and allow God to show you what it means to experience His love and compassion in your life.

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