Satan has great power over us only
to the extent that we deny our wrongdoing. When we confess our wrongdoing
before God and another trusted person, however, the enemy flees and the
Spirit’s power to break the shackles of the sin is enacted.
But it takes much courage to
confess; to make ourselves vulnerable to the judgment, rebuke or rejection of
another.
The Holy Spirit’s power is
accessed and released upon true confession. This happens naturally and
supernaturally.
The Natural Effects In Confession
Something wonderfully empowering
occurs when we hear ourselves say the words: “I was wrong,” “I refused to forgive,” “I was so envious of her/him,”
“I couldn’t control my alcohol intake,” and “Having an
affair made me feel so dirty and worthless.”
But the power in saying the words
is magnified when we trust someone else to hear them. Once we have spoken our
hidden and shameful truths, aloud, into a safe environment, God cleanses us in
the moment and through succeeding days as we reflect. The burden is no longer
solely ours. God takes a good deal of that weight.
We feel the fresh breeze of
confidence, that, though we ‘failed God’, we are still loved by God—and never
less!
The natural effects of confession
are the lightening of our burden of guilt, fear, and shame.
An additional great blessing in
having confessed our sin is we much more readily face it; the full weight of our
responsibility; the consequences upon us into the future. For that moment we have
possession of a fearless courage to own our junk.
The Supernatural Effect In Confession
Imagine a small group
accountability meeting. The beauty in such a meeting is, having shared the
grips of our sins, apart from the natural support we gain, there is a
supernatural blessing upon the individuals of the group as they separate and
move out into the breadth of their lives.
As each individual in that group
goes about their daily lives, the Holy Spirit drops ‘scenes’ into their consciousness,
in random moments: the plight of someone who has confessed. Instantly this
individual is, of a sense, praying. The Holy Spirit is working in mysterious
ways—hardly even at a conscious level. And the power of prayer is manifested
over the life of the one who confessed—without them even knowing!
The supernatural ripple effects in
confession are incalculable.
***
Great is our receipt of the
Spirit’s power when we honestly and courageously confess our sin before God and
another person or persons. There is a ripple blessing where the Spirit’s power
is manifested naturally and supernaturally. Confession doesn’t weaken us, it
strengthens us. It is a key in the Spirit transforming us.
© 2012 S. J. Wickham.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.