Coming Clean About It Al

God created us to live in loving relationship with Him.  All addictive and destructive behaviour is rooted in the breakdown of that relationship.  Instead of turning to God for help in our time of need, we try to fix problems ourselves and end up in a worse condition than before.  Our rebellion against God and His ways is at the root of all our wrongs. 

 In relationships that we struggle with, all of us wrestle with our conscience.  We use lots of different strategies to rationalize our poor behaviour towards others.  We may lie to ourselves and pretend that what we have done is not so bad in comparison to what others have done.  We minimize how our conduct negatively impacted others.  We hope that working hard at being good will offset the wrongs we have done. 

To be at peace with ourselves we must stop rationalizing our past behaviour, acknowledge the error of our ways, realize the hurt we have caused, and turn away from our destructive lifestyle.  

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.  (Proverbs 28:13 NIV) 

When we expose the exact nature of our wrongs, we think that God will be surprised by our admission of what we have done.  We forget that He already knows every detail of our history and the true nature of our issues.

For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight—That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.  (Psalm 51:3-4 NKJV)

When we repent of our sin and bring our issues before God, He will hear us and rescue us from all our troubles.  He has forgiveness for all our wrong-doing, healing for our brokenness, and guidance to help us build healthy relationships.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, I confess the foundation of all my wrong-doing is my unwillingness to trust You and surrender to Your ways.  You alone know what is best for me.  Today I choose to trust Your plan for my life and I sincerely thank You for giving me hope and a future.  Amen