An Act of Speaking and an Act of Hearing

What’s interesting about this verse is the way that it pairs things up and creates light and shade. Death/life, endurance/reign, if we deny him/he’ll deny us. There’s a symmetry and balance to this. Then it gets to faithfulness and breaks this pattern, stating that if we are faithless he still remains faithful, and qualifies it by saying that he cannot disown himself. It’s a simple reminder that God’s faithfulness isn’t a reward for our own. Rather, it’s the product of his nature and character. This is not to say that God is a doormat we can walk all over. Ultimately, when we’re unfaithful to him we end up damaging ourselves and those around us. 

One of the spiritual practices for faithfulness can be confession, a word that can often feel loaded with negativity and religiousness. Perhaps, we feel so uncomfortable about it because it’s so exposing, and forces us to reveal all the baggage in our hearts. It was never supposed to be something to condemn and weigh us down. In fact, it’s meant to do the opposite. It’s a tool to liberate us while revealing God’s goodness. We’re all familiar with the phrase ‘I need to get this off my chest.’ Well, confession is about getting the things off our chest which we need to talk to God about but would rather not! 

Something helpful I heard on confession was that it is both an act of speaking and an act of hearing. Namely, speaking our confessions to God, and then hearing his words of comfort and discipleship. His unwavering faithfulness means that we can confess our faults, flaws, and failures with confidence, knowing that we’ll be forgiven and restored. Like our relationship with God, it isn’t a one-time thing. While confession uncomfortably exposes our misdeeds and failures, it also exposes his faithfulness and goodness.

Is there anything you’ve thought, said, or done recently which isn’t in line with God’s kingdom [or values]?

Try the spiritual practice of confession today, alone with God or with someone you trust, writing them down, or speaking them out loud.

Speak honestly with God, and then listen to his words of comfort and discipleship.