When I was a Boy Scout we took long hikes with loaded, external-framed backpacks. A six-mile walk with a heavy pack is tough—and the hardest part is setting off again after a break. Shouldering a heavy pack the second time is harder than the first.
When we sin we carry the weight on our soul like a backpack full of water bottles. Sometimes guilt is particularly heavy for believers. Once you have had the guilt lifted at salvation, taking up the load again later feels harder than before. The answer? CONFESSION. When David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered Uriah, he could not escape the guilt. For months he said nothing—and it consumed him:
“When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. Day and night Your hand was heavy upon me. My vitality drained away” Psalm 32:3-4.
David was miserable until he confessed. Have you carried guilt like a terrible secret? Confess your sins to the Lord. That is the only way to lift the weight that cripples you. Pray the words of Psalm 51—the psalm David wrote when he finally confessed:
“Be gracious to me, oh God, because of Your faithfulness, according to the greatness of Your compassion, wipe out my wrongdoing. Wash me thoroughly from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin … Against You and You only have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that Thou art justified when You speak and blameless when You judge … Wash me and I will be whiter than snow … Create in me a clean heart, God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” Psalm 51:1-10.
Are you depressed or trapped in addiction? Do your prayers seem to reach the ceiling and go no further? If God feels distant, confession may be the answer. Pray the words of Psalm 51 over and over and talk to God about your sin as specifically as possible. Confession the first step to removing the weight from your shoulders.
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Household Words: 