James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Did you ever wonder why Catholics go to confession? It’s because of this verse right here. James tells us to confess our sins to each other and to pray for each other. Why? So we can be healed. Turns out confession is good for our souls. Perhaps you’ve heard the adage, “Secrets make you sick,” and that’s true of sin as well. When Satan convinces us that our sin is somehow so great that no one can forgive us or that no one would accept us if they knew, he gets a foothold in our lives that he can use to saddle us with shame and sickness and anything else he wants to put on us. When we believe his lie that no one can accept us because of our sin, we also accept all the other junk he wants to put on us.
But God gave us a way out: confession. You don’t have to confess your sins to a large group of people. You don’t have to confess your sins to a priest. While confessing your sin to God is enough for forgiveness, sometimes confessing to a trusted confidante is good for us to. Why? Because our confidante can help keep us accountable. Their acceptance of us and love for us can also help us receive the forgiveness, love and acceptance that God offers. The truth is that sin is sin. There is no sin so great that God can not forgive it, and no sin so terrible that God can not love you in spite of it.
When we speak out our struggles, we take away Satan’s power to shame us and isolate us. We close that door into our life, and with it we close the door to shame, sickness, and whatever else Satan would like to saddle us with. We are no longer slaves. We are accepted and welcomed daughters and sons. Our sins are already forgiven–those we’ve committed and those we have yet to commit. It’s human to struggle, but God has already covered our sins with the blood of Jesus if we have accepted Christ as our Lord.
So don’t be afraid to talk to a friend about your struggle. Don’t be afraid to get an accountability partner and a prayer partner. Things brought out to the light are more easily healed. So don’t hide in the dark with your sin. Don’t let Satan sicken your soul with shame and condemnation.
Father, I thank you that you have already paid the price for my sin. You paid it in full before I was even born. You paid for the sin I’ve already committed and the sin I have yet to commit. None of it comes as a shock or surprise to you, and none of it could ever separate me from your love. I have made Jesus the Lord of my life, and that means that I am accepted. I confess my sins to you, Lord. Help me find a good confidante that I can trust as well to hold me accountable before you. I don’t want Satan to have a foothold in my life through shame or condemnation. I close that door to him now. I will not be afraid to share my struggle with others and open the door to your light and your healing. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
A Beautiful Mess 