While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and throwing himself to the ground in front of the Temple of God, a large crowd of people from Israel - men, women, and children - gathered and wept bitterly with him.
Ezra 10:1
For many of us, confessing of our sins never leaves our minds. We say it in our head and pray a prayer of repentance but we never say it out loud. For some people saying it out loud (behind closed doors) forces them to own up to it and in hearing it come from their mouth, allows them to let it go. In the bible we read of one man who confessed in front the Temple of God. No, he didn’t take a piece of paper and pin it to a wooden cross or drop it at the foot of the cross, he laid down in anguish, tears running down his cheeks, (yes the ugly cry!), in front of so many people and stated aloud all the sins of he and his people. Read the scripture again............the result of this should make us look at confession differently and take to heart the words in James 5:16 that state: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you will be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.”
Telling people our sin, and letting our friends know our mess? I know it sounds difficult but the bible tells us to do it and I gotta believe that it might know a little more than I do. Let me tell you what I do know about confessing sin to someone. It is freeing. It allows you to walk out of the pit of shame and accept God’s mercy. When we keep it to ourselves we tend to hang on to it and never really let it go but when we know someone else knows, and still loves us, we can begin to understand, just a little, about God’s amazing grace. I’m not saying to share it with the world and I’m not telling you to share every little detail. What I am suggesting is you find a godly friend, whom you can trust and share with. Someone who will love you regardless and who is willing to hold you accountable so you don’t fall into that sin again. I know from experience that once you tell just one person it gets easier and easier to say it again to someone who may desperately need to hear it. Someone who is struggling to get out of their own pit.
Ezra was not afraid to get real with his people and what a blessing that was for many! People joined in and wept with him, and confessed their sins which later resulted in repentance and changed hearts and lives! Maybe if we look at confessing to a friend as helping them and freeing them we would be more willing to share. I believe that if we all started getting real and stopped hiding, our community and nation would undergo a spiritual revival like no other. God expects honesty from us, in fact, we can’t hide anything from him, so why hide from a trusted friend or pastor? Besides, it takes so much effort and energy hiding, dwelling on and reliving our sin. The shame alone can make us physically ill! And why be ashamed of something that God has forgiven us for and no longer remembers? It does’t matter what others think of us, it only matters that our hearts are committed to a God First Life and that, my friend, includes getting real. He wants us to use our past, to share our stories! Today.......free yourself and focus your energy on repenting and changing your life and leading others to Christ!
Dear God, I confess my sin ( ) to you. Please give me one friend who can handle this truth about me so that I can share with him/her. Free me from the guilt and shame that I work so hard to hide. I want to experience Your Amazing Grace and be free to live for you and help others in the process! In Jesus Name, Amen
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