I love this verse…

But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away. 1 John 1:9 (CEV)

The word used for sin in this verse means to “miss the mark.”  And, if we’re honest, we’ve all missed the mark at some point.  We’ve all come up short.  The good news is that God has a plan for that.  He says that if we’ll confess that He will forgive us and take our sins away!

The goal of confession is not to make us feel worse.  The goal is to help us move on by admitting what we’ve done and asking for God’s help.  What I love about the verse above is that it tells us that if we confess then God “can always be trusted” to forgive us.  You never have to question that.  You can know with certainty that He has forgiven you!  But, you must first confess.

When you’ve blown it, stop at that instant and confess it.  Don’t wait for your quiet time or the next church meeting.  Don’t wait at all.  Confess it instantly and ask the Lord to help you find your way back on the right path.  He will come and find you, no matter how lost you are, and He will forgive you and help you.