Confession: It's all in His Hands

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There is a common saying that confession is good for soul. God has shown this to be so true in my own life. Often times, for me at least, it is the point of confession taht is hardest for me. I struggle with trusting that God will forgive me yet again when I put shame to the cross by stumbling over the same sin. It is at these times that I turn to 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." It is so reassuring to know that it is the faithfulness of God, and not my own faithfulness to Him, that ultimately matters. If my relationship was wholly based on myself ... well, I would fail from the very onset. But it doesn't, praise be to God! I'm like the wounded man on the road to Jerusalem. Jesus is my Good Samaritan who shows me kindness, bandaging my wounds, placing me on His donkey as he endures the treacherous road, and then places me at comfortable inn at His expense. He has done all the work on the cross. There is no more need for me to do anything else but to surrender.

And to surrender I must confess, because confession is the very gate transporting me from my place of sin to the place of forgiveness. There are other advantages in confession besides my own forgiveness. In confession, I realize my frailty and God's sovereignty; admitting to fault keeps me decreasing whilst He increases [John 3:30]. Thus, I gain perspective on our relationship to Him. I also, in acknowledging my fault, find it easier to forgive others, knowing that they, like I, are not perfect. And we know that if we forgive men their trespasses, so our heavenly Father will forgive our sins [Matthew 6:14]. Amazing, isn't it, how everything is intertwined?

Now, I must impress on you all the importance of confessing everything, even the "small sins." It is imperative because a total confession correlates to total surrender. I know that as I escalate in my relationship with Christ, I want to be increasing wholly (and no, this isn't a misspelling). I want to learn to be wholly His, trusting that He takes care of me and knowing that He set up this system of confession not to embarrass me with my shameful thoughts/actions, but to bring about the forgiveness that will strengthen me to do better tomorrow.

For me, this often means confessing that I don't know where God is leading me and am tempted to despair. But God has shown me a very useful analogy, and I hope it encourages you all. We learned as a child that God's "got the whole world in His hands." I mean, everything in the universe, physically and metaphysically speaking, is in His hands. That includes myself. Now there are certain things in my life that are in my hands - my study habits, my decisions, my choice of words, etc. But as I get older I find there are much bigger things that I try to control but I really just can't. They are too big to fit in my hands. Here I am, struggling to hold them but finding that they're so overwhelming. Confession is my letting go. And as I let go, I am reassured and find peace. Why? Because I, along with everything else, am in His hands. The problems and trials remain in His hands, even as they slip through my own.

I know for a fact that there are women of all different stages of life in this group. Many of us are older; some have children. And I'm sure some of those children, brothers, sisters, etc. are not where they should be in life. We hurt to see that that way. But I encourage you ladies to let go; it's in His hands. Some of us thing about our loans that are wracking up to the thousands, maybe tens of thousands. Let it go; it's in His hands. Some of us are facing the loss of our jobs, homes, cars ... let it go; it's in His hands. I don't know what each of you are facing, but I can tell you that you are not facing it alone. He is more than with you; He is holding you.

God bless,
Alisha