James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
You may have heard the old adage that confession is good for the soul. It’s so true. Confession brings healing. Do you remember a time as a child when you broke something that belonged to a parent or sibling, but pretended you didn’t know anything about it? If you were like most children, you were pretty bad at covering it up and your parents could see right through your attempt to conceal the truth.
Do you remember how hard it was as a child to carry around that secret sin? Eventually, you probably broke down under the weight of the guilt and confessed in tears to mom or dad. With that confession, there was some embarrassment and regret, but also a wave of relief to be free from that burden.
As we get older, we can get more skilled at covering up our guilt. In fact, we can sometimes carry around burdens from past sins for years and no one has any idea what is going on inside of us.
Well, that’s what we think. Right? Our heavenly parent, just like our earthly parents, can see right through our cover-up strategy. God wants us to be free of the burden of our sin and mistakes. He does not want us to carry around that kind of weight. So, the Bible says, “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16).
Thought for Today: If you are carrying around a burden of guilt, talk to Father in heaven about it. God already can see what you are hiding. Receive forgiveness and freedom from Him. Then, confess that sin to a friend or a family member. Bring it out into the light of day and take away the power of that lie. Be free of that part of your past and begin the healing process. What do you need to confess today?
Sun Valley Community Church Devotional 