How to Get Real & Embrace the Gift of Apologising to God

 'If we say 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 cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' ~1 John 1:9 (ESV)

Okay, I’ve put it off long enough. Stalling, polishing excuses, justifying my delay. But it’s time.

Time to talk about my sin. To look it squarely in the face and accept it for what is, the whole low-down, dirty shame of it.

Did I pique your interest?

Yeah, I know. It’s always easier, albeit slightly uncomfortable, to hear about the sins of others. Some, you feel sorry for, and may even whisper a prayer for, others you may judge . . . secretly. But the real discomfort, the kind that makes you want to crawl out of your skin and hide, comes when you have to address your own sin.

Welcome to phase three of my series -  The Five B’s of Living, Breathing, Beautiful Prayer: Bow before the LORD. Missed the first two posts? You can read Phase one here and Phase two here. Phase one is all about beholding God by recognizing who we are praying to - the Creator, Ruler, and Sustainer of the universe who mercifully desires a relationship with us. Phase two discussed why blessing God is absolutely good for us and just how we go about doing that. Now, here in phase three, we’ll look at coming clean before God and the astonishing gift when tears of sorrow and whispers of thanks meet together in confession.

But don’t let the phases fool you, this is not a list to follow in a prescribed order, but rather an encouragement to develop the heart posture that embraces a lifestyle of prayer in every circumstance, in other words to help us ‘pray without ceasing’ according to God’s will for us.

So, let’s get back to the issue of my sin and the reason it’s sometimes hard for me to talk about it with God. You see, sometimes, the real me doesn’t meet with the real God. Rather, I conjure up an image of Him much more like me than He really is. For example, If I were Him, I would be fed up with hearing how many times I was sorry for speaking harshly or unkindly or acting in an unloving way. After the 100^th time, I would be out of both patience and mercy. With a God like that, it’s no wonder I would shy away or hide behind a veil of excuses, especially when I’m coming before Him with the 200^th transgression.  With His mercy exhausted, I would be destined for His judgment, rightly deserved judgment, I might add. With the veiled me coming before my imagined God, I would sit wallowing in the pit of my sin, ashamed, embarrassed, paralyzed by fear, unable to move forward.

But thankfully, my God is not like me.

Please don’t misunderstand me. God takes sin SERIOUSLY. If you’re ever in doubt about the gravity of sin start with the book of Leviticus, in all its gory, bloody, fiery, animal-sacrificing seriousness. Just imagining the scene of the sin offerings is enough to make me feel physically ill. The sights, the sounds, the smells, but most of all the gnawing belief that I would keep messing up and never be able to get in or stay in a right relationship with God. Yes, sin is serious, and I could never get out from under it on my own.

But thankfully, God made a Way for me.

And this is why I can be real. This is why I can lift my eyes from the slough of my sin and stare into the sacrificial, debt-paying, life-giving love of God. By giving His perfect life for my blemished one, Jesus Christ offered (once and for all) the bloody sacrifice for my sin that I could not pay. With His blood sprinkled on me, I am now able to approach God guilt-free and call Him Father, accepting His forgiveness and His power to live for Him. It’s a beautiful exchange.  

This is why I don’t need to come before God pretending my sin is not there or it’s not as bad as it is. The truth is, I am worse than I think I am. God knows it and deep down I know it. But because of this beautiful exchange, I can come just as I am, with all of my sins. I can be deeply sorrowful and genuinely repentant for my sin and overjoyed by the love of God all at the same time.

But enough about me. 

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What about you? 

Do you talk about your sin with God? 

Is it easy for you to be real or do you struggle to acknowledge the cost of continual sin in your life? Do you confess some but not others? Perhaps worried that they are just too bad. 

My prayer is that you would ‘grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ’ and that this knowledge will drive you to your knees confessing your sin before God and accepting His gift of forgiveness. The sweetness of this restored relationship is almost indescribable. 

May grace and peace be multiplied to you,

Carlie

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Next up is phase four of the Five B's of Living, Breathing, Beautiful Prayer. 

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How to Get Real & Embrace the Gift of Apologising to God