Breaking Free From the Power of ShameSample

DAY 5: Confession Brings Freedom

It's incredible how much freedom comes with confession. David confesses his sin, then says, “and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” What a powerful statement. An adulterer and a murder asked for forgiveness, and he received it. Just like that!

This word forgiveness means that your sin is completely cancelled. God is not going to hold it against you or hang it over your head. If I can be honest with you, others might. People will see you and identify you with your sin. You may lose some friends and be judged by others. But, who cares! They don’t have the power to choose your future. They don’t have the power to determine how God will use you, nor does God need their permission. God doesn’t need the approval of man with who, when, and where He accomplishes his purposes. It’s His decision. So, lift your head up high and don’t live in shame.

If the Creator of the universe says you are forgiven, then the opinions of other people are simply that—their opinions. And those opinions don’t hold up in God’s court.

David acknowledged his sin, confessed it, and received forgiveness, and the same can happen for you. But you must take these steps. Once sin is brought into the light, no matter what it is, you no longer feel like you have to hide or try to cover it.  You no longer feel like a fraud who's afraid of being found out.  But instead, you can walk in complete freedom now that the Creator of the Universe has forgiven you.  You no longer have to hang your head in shame and avoid eye contact.  Now you can look people straight in the eyes, knowing they can't accuse you of anything God has pardoned you from. 

David goes from talking about the misery he felt from hiding his sin in verses 3 and 4 to celebrating the freedom he now has in verse 7.  Can you imagine how he must have felt covering his sin because of the shame that it brought and would continue to carry?  He hid at all costs, then confessed and found freedom.  He was so free that it seemed as if he didn't care what others had to say about him.  He goes from hiding from God to hiding in God.

So, in other words, he is saying, for all of you who want to judge, ridicule, and shame me, if you are wondering where I am, I am hiding in God.  If you're going to get to me, you have to go through Him to find me.  If you want me, you will have to go through my Father! 

What a moment!  What confidence! What if we lived that way?  Often, we cover our stuff because we are so afraid of what people will think about us.  We are so fearful of the shame that it's going to produce that we hide it and shame ourselves.  Imagine what our lives would look like if we stopped being enslaved to man's opinions and started walking in the freedom of Christ.