Confess Your Sins
“Whoever hides their sins will not be successful, but whoever confesses their sins and stops doing wrong will receive mercy.” Proverbs 28:13 (ERV)
Do you have some hidden sin that is blocking your success and prosperity? Concealing sins can prove to be a road block or a hindrance to us. Hidden and unconfessed sin can also cause anxiety and inner turmoil. It can begin to eat away at us.
“When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long.” Psalm 32:3 (NLT)
“I am dying from grief; my years are shortened by sadness. Sin has drained my strength; I am wasting away from within.” Psalm 31:10 (NLT)
God knows this and therefore has given us confession as an outlet. Weights can be lifted and refreshing can come when we confess things and come clean. Proverbs 28:13 promises us mercy when we confess our sins and stop doing wrong. Today I’d like to share four observations that I took away from this verse about hiding sins versus confessing them.
Observation #1: Hiding sins blocks success
“Whoever hides their sins will not be successful, but whoever confesses their sins and stops doing wrong will receive mercy.” Proverbs 28:13 (ERV)
Don’t hide or try to conceal your sins. You shouldn’t cover them up. Don’t act fake. Don’t act as if you never do anything wrong. Claiming to be without sin is just deceiving yourself and others. Everyone has sinned. So be transparent! Concealing sins blocks success and prosperity.
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” 1 John 1:8-10 (NIV)
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Romans 3:23 (NLT)
Observation #2: Confess your sins
“Whoever hides their sins will not be successful, but whoever confesses their sins and stops doing wrong will receive mercy.” Proverbs 28:13 (ERV)
Admit your wrongs. Tell God. Tell someone else so that you may receive help, healing and accountability. Confession of sins can bring healing (emotional, physical, etc.) to yourself and to others involved.
“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:16 (NLT)
It will also lift weights to get them off of your chest. It’s important to get sins into the light so that the darkness can be dispelled. Satan wants to keep them in darkness.
“All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” John 3:20-21 (NLT)
However, keep in mind that all things in darkness and hidden will eventually be revealed anyway!