Live Free with Josh Howerton - There is Healing in Confession | Ep. 345 | Friday, May 31, 2024

Episode Date: May 31, 2024

Today is the last day of May and the last day of our time in the book of James. James encourages us to pray and confess our sins to one another because there is healing in confession. When we acknowledge and take responsibility for our sin, it gets it out into the light. In the light, you will see that you are not alone and that God’s mercy is always enough. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.com slash daily drive. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Well, it is the final day of May, and it's a Friday, and so this weekend starts the month of June. And, man, I love summer, and I love doing this podcast every day, and I'm so grateful for you and your hunger to know God more. And it is an absolute privilege to get to hang with you for a few minutes each weekday, and today we are wrapping up our journey through the book of James.

And I don't know about you, but it's really spoken in my heart. In fact, I'm going to go back and read the whole thing again in one setting. I'm just saying, okay, God, I'm setting the podcast aside. What is the one thing you want me to personally take away from all this? And I would encourage you to do the same. Well, James wraps it all up talking about praying, how talking to God is not a last resort, but a first resort. It's a daily conversation with him through hard times, good times,

times of sickness, times of great health. Then he says this in verse 16. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. Let me read that again. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. There's a saying in AA, you're as sick as your secrets. And it's true. And the sin you want to conceal the most is the one you need to reveal the most. James is saying there's healing in confession. I can remember a lady one time confessing something to me that she had been stuffing inside for over 20 years, and she just had to get it out. And she told me everything,

and we prayed together, and then she left. And I saw her the next week, and she told me, you know, after we talked and prayed, I went home, and I know this is silly, but I got on the bathroom scale because it felt like I'd lost 30 pounds. I didn't, but it sure felt like it. See, confession is so healing. Let me give you a definition. Confession is when we acknowledge and take responsibility for our sin. Confession is when we acknowledge and take responsibility for our sin. Confession is when we acknowledge and take responsibility for our sin. We admit it's real, and we call it by its name, like James does. We say the word, sin. We don't call it a mistake. We don't call it a bad idea or a weak moment. A mistake is when we thought the meeting was at 9 o'clock and is really at 10. A weak moment is

when we ate the entire box of Girl Scott cookies. We tell the truth. Sin is when we willingly reject God's commands and boundaries. We chose to pursue our selfish desires over God's wisdom. We are agreeing with God's word when it says, For everyone is sin, and we all fall short of God's glory as standard. On top of that, not only do we call it sin, but we take responsibility for it. We don't blame other people. We just own it.

You know what, our neighbor's brand-new SUV in the driveway didn't cause our envy. The way she was dressed didn't make us lust. Our children's immaturity didn't make us blow up in anger. Now, temptations are real in situations of people can be difficult, but our sin is our responsibility. And confession is when we acknowledge that that sin exists and we admit that it is our responsibility. You take that to God, knowing that forgiveness is already yours, and then James says, take it to another person so you can get it out in the light. Now, this is usually the point in the conversation where you're thinking, uh, you're asking me to do that?

That sounds terrifying to be that vulnerable and that exposed. Come on, James. So you're not only asking me to confess my sin to God. but also to other people? What about my reputation? I mean, what about the embarrassment? What about the shame? I mean, what if it changes the relationship?

You know what? After further review, James, I think I'll just keep it to myself. Parvars 2813 says, He who conceals his sin does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. God is saying that our unconfessed sin is quite literally diminishing our quality of life, plus the fear of being exposed

preventing us from receiving the mercy that we so desperately need. King David wrote over in Psalm 32 how it just wears you down, he said, when I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.

My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. And that's why God gave us the gift of confession. Confession is for our good. honesty and vulnerability are really healthy things, really good things, really godly things. Now it might be tough to let it be known, but there is healing in that. Besides, here's the truth. Most of us are like the rest of us. You think no one else thinks like this, no one else ever done something like this,

no one else has these kind of secrets, no one else is this screwed up, no, you're wrong. There is someone who understands you and loves you and will not condemn you because they've been there too. We are as sick as our secret, so confess your sins to each other so that you may be healed. D. Creek Bonhofer once wrote a man who confesses his sins in the presence of a brother, knows that he is no longer alone with himself. He experiences the presence of God in the reality of the other person. I love that. Let me read it again. He experiences the presence of God in the reality of the other person.

As long as I am by myself in the confession of my sins, everything remains in the dark. But in the presence of a brother, the sin has to be brought into the light. And gang, good things happen in the light. Bring it out of the dark. Talk to God about it. Own it. Talk to a trusted friend about it. And own it.

And then, go jump on a bathroom scale just to see. Hey, we got a very special guest next week on the Daily Drive. So I hope you tune in every day. And I'll see you back the week after that. Love y'all and pray for you every single morning. Hope you all have a great weekend. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship,

join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. For more information, visit lakepoint.com.