Day 61/365

… if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. (‭‭1 John‬ ‭1:8)

I’ve learned (yes, the hard way), that conviction doesn’t always come at once and at the same time.

Many (many) times in my life, something has happened that’s pulled me up short – a conversation that went down a particular road I wasn’t expecting. A memory, even a smell (aftershave, perfume, fried chicken)!

Or a carefully crafted lie that I’d been hiding behind – sometimes for years!

Any (and all), of these have and did spark a sudden twinge in my spirit that required my immediate response.

Our Father doesn’t want us dragging our stuff around like Jacob Marley in Scrooge… if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. (‭‭1 John‬ ‭1:8) ❤️

Friday

All you lovers of God who want to please him, come and listen, and I’ll tell you what he did for me.

I cried aloud to him with all my heart and he answered me! Now my mouth overflows with the highest praise.

Yet if I had closed my eyes to my sin, the Lord God would have closed his ears to my prayer.

But praises rise to God, for he paid attention to my prayer and answered my cry to him!

I will forever praise this God who didn’t close his heart when I prayed and never said no when I asked him for help. He never once refused to show me his tender love. (‭‭Psa‬ ‭66:16)

Think about it … ❤️

Saturday

How blessed and relieved are those who have confessed their corruption to God! For he wipes their slates clean and removes hypocrisy from their hearts.

Before I confessed my sins, I kept it all inside; my dishonesty devastated my inner life, causing my life to be filled with frustration, irrepressible anguish, and misery.

The pain never let up, for your hand of conviction was heavy on my heart. My strength was sapped, my inner life dried up like a spiritual drought within my soul.

Pause in his presence

Then I finally admitted to you all my sins, refusing to hide them any longer. I said, “My life-giving God, I will openly acknowledge my evil actions.” And you forgave me! All at once the guilt of my sin washed away and all my pain disappeared!

Pause in his presence

This is what I’ve learned through it all: All believers should confess their sins to God; do it every time God has uncovered you in the time of exposing. For if you do this, when sudden storms of life overwhelm, you’ll be kept safe. (‭‭Psa 32:2) ❤️