The Truth makes us Free!

“If you hide your sins, you will not succeed.
If you confess and reject them, you will receive mercy.”  Prov. 28:13 NCV

Many people truly desire to walk in truth and be free from their hidden sins.   Sadly, most do not because they are afraid of what is hiding inside or they are too prideful to admit wrong or they do not want to change.

The pain of change can mean a loss, a move, a true heart confession of disobedience or admitting a life of denial.

People will say continually, “I’d like to change this or that in my life,” but they never seem to do it.  Why?   The pain of being the same seems less than the pain of changing.   

One way or another it’s going to hurt to make adjustments in our lives.  That’s the bad news.   The good news is that we can choose the pain we endure.   We have two options: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.

When Adam first sinned he tried to hide his guilt and blamed God for giving him the woman who led him into sin.   As Adam’s descendants, we have inherited from him that same tendency----we avoid personal responsibility for misbehavior and hide our guilt behind defense mechanisms.

 Until we see how we deny our responsibility in personal problems and our contributions to troubled relationships, we will continue to deceive ourselves about ourselves and will remain unchanged.  We will not find victory in our pursuit of holiness, nor will we walk in the power that comes with a clear conscience before God.

As Proverbs 28:13 tells us, the confession of our sins will allow us to enjoy God’s mercy, the concealment of our sins will bring us spiritual and emotional bankruptcy.

We, just like Adam, resist taking responsibility for our actions because we do not want to believe evil of ourselves.   Either our self-esteem is threatened or we fear judgment from God or others.

Whatever, the reason, when others confront us we resist with anger and denial.   We say we want to become godlier and grow into the image of Jesus, but our resistance to change says otherwise.

“Change will come when the pain of staying the same is worse than the pain of change.”     (Author unknown)

“Change happens when the pain of holding on becomes greater than the fear of letting go.”   Spencer Johnson

“………..it is your faith that has healed you.  Go home in peace, and be free from your trouble.”  Mark 5:34 (Phillips)