When we confess our sins to God, we do not tell Him what He already knows. Confession isn’t blaming others for our faults; it’s not complaining about things that we think make us sin. True confession of our sins is coming clean with God, realizing the deep seated knowledge that we are wrong. God forgives us and changes us; then, the healing begins. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9 KJV)
Just as we cannot live with foreign objects in our bodies, we cannot live with guilt, fear, hate, discrimination, lies, greed, or lust in our hearts. When we truly and honestly confess, God extracts the problem. “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139: 23-24 KJV) Grace is given to us when we know we are sinful and we ask for God to make us clean.
Not one of us is perfect; we are all guilty of a multitude of transgressions, even those we may not recognize. I’m thinking of the people of Ukraine today and wondering how will they ever forgive the Russians for starting a war to take land which isn’t theirs and killing so many innocent people. How do you forgive people who hurt you so violently? You do what the Ukrainian people are doing, but more importantly, you put your trust and your hearts in the hands of God. God will take care of those who try to protect themselves from evil and will not let tyrants like Putin usurp another country’s land and livelihoods. With peace and love will come the grace for all nations to forgive. Both sides will have to ask for God’s grace and then, the healing will start. Until then, let’s all pray that this war will come to a quick end.
Anna Hartt
