Make Confession a Spiritual Discipline
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9
One time when I was in Sacramento, a guy confronted me about the issue of confession by asking point-blank, “So, Kenny what’s in it for me if I take the risk and confess?” I replied, “Do you want more of God’s power in your life?” He responded “Yes.” “Do you want to deal Satan a right-hand straight to the jaw?” “Absolutely,” he smiled. Do you want people to trust you and be close to you?” “Sure.” “Do you want God to use you more?” “With all my heart.” “Good, then no secrets.”
Someone once said, “The greatest weakness is to be conscious of none.” I wish I knew the guy’s name so I could give him credit for helping men see why God has given us confession as a tool for spiritual growth. The Scriptures encourage honest confession because it produces awesome results in the life of God’s man.
When God said to the apostle Paul, “My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9), He was saying that when God’s man is at his most vulnerable place, that’s when God’s power flows most freely toward him. Confession puts us in that place.
Jesus said, “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light” (John 3:20-21). After I read that, I viewed confession as an offensive weapon that diminishes Satan’s power to influence me. If Satan is the father of lies, confession takes away the footholds that secrets create for him.
Father, thank you for allowing me to confess with no condemnation.