Spiritual Discipline - Confession

Confession - Living Beyond Regret
Psalm 32:1-11

We all have different sins piling up, causing us guilt and regret. Some could be because of oversight, some are plain disobedience, some are habits we can't get out of. God wants us to live a life that's free from these baggages; a life beyond regret. But to do that, we need the simple act of coming to God (and sometimes one another) in confession.

The Blessing of confessing our sins

Man dislikes confession because it means the moment we confess, it means we have to stop the sin. Thus, we try to hide it, ignore it or convince ourselves that it is not sin. The only way we should handle sin is to confess it before God. This is something we Christians have lost as a habit. Psalm 32 talks about being relieved of sin's baggages.

Pardon from sin (V1 - 5)

We can be free from sin; forgiven. (V1) When we confess, God will not count the sin against us. It frees us and we no longer have to live double lives. Unconfessed sin negatively affects our lives in more ways than we expect. David says in the Psalm that when he kept quiet, his bones wasted away. Unconfessed sin also saps energy out of people.

In confessing his sin, David called it 3 things: Sin - falling short of God's mark. Iniquity - A bent toward sin. Transgression - Stepping over the boundary. The end of V5 promises God's forgiveness and the wiping away of our guilt. We'll be given a clean slate again and can live life beyond regret.

Protection from trouble (V6 - 7)

We should come to God in repentance before our hearts get hardened. V6 speaks of God's protection when we confess. This protection doesn't mean God will remove the consequence of our sin. It means that the guilt, remorse and regret will no longer be able to chain us down.

Promise of divine guidence (V8 - 11)

Many of us have walked the wrong way so long that we no longer know the right way. V8 onwards of the Psalm suddenly changes and speaks to us from God's position. It promises guidence and counsel. God says that He will personally instruct us the way we should go.

A lot of people have the wrong opinions of repentance. We simply say sorry to God, but we go back into the same sinful acts. When we know we are in the wrong, we have to do something about it, and live right again.

At the end of his confessions, David was able to rejoice in the Lord again. The joy of his salvation had been restored. By putting the discipline of confession in the Lord's prayer, He shows that He wants it to be a daily routine for us. Let's check ourselves, even for the seemingly smaller sins like anger, lust, disobedience, not honouring our parents and confess them to God in repentance today.