Devotions - Monday, Feb 12

Psalm 32:3-5 reads:

"While I kept silence, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength dried up as by the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity.
I said, 'I confess my transgressions to the Lord.'
and you forgave me the guilt of my sin."

Not often enough do we speak of the gift which comes with confession. I am not referring to the perceived set aside of any punishment. I speak of the lightening of one's burden. The psalmist says that his body was wasting away, so long as he kept his sin hidden. Confession allows us to release that burden, to set aside that weight.

Why do we not confess? There is a multitude of reasons. Most often noted would be a fear of God's wrath. We are fearful of the consequences of our sin, so we seek to hide it. As if not acknowledging it would make it go away. A prayer is my prayer book speaks of those sins which we have so craftily hidden from others that they have become hidden even to ourselves.

But hiding does not make them go away, or disappear, or cease to weigh upon us. Instead, they take advantage of the damp, dark place, festering and infecting so much of what lies around.

One of the Lenten disciplines is confession. Lent is a time to examine our lives and our actions and to bring to the surface those things which have been hidden below. It is a time to acknowledge our guilt and turn to God. It is a season for bringing to an end the wasting away of our bodies and spirits.

Pastor Chris