Psalm 32:3-5

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 

This summer, I ran a 100-mile, 4- person relay. I felt great at the start! However, around mile 14-15, I began to feel the effects of dehydration, summer heat, and being undertrained. For miles, my body was cramping up, I started to get light-headed, and every step felt like a crushing weight. One of my teammates stepped in to take a portion of my leg as I tried to recover.

In Psalm 32:3-5, we hear David falling under the crushing weight of unconfessed sin. He describes it as his bones wasting, body groaning, and strength sapped from him. The longer he held it in, the worse it made him feel. That is, until he acknowledged and confessed his sins to the Lord.

We can feel tempted to not confess our sin to the Lord or even to a friend. We may be afraid of the reactions of friends or family. We may even fear the consequences that come with it. When we bring ourselves, humbly, to the Lord in confession of what’s been hurting us inside; the entire weight that was crushing our bones is lifted! He forgives and heals us. Is there sin in your life you need to confess today?

Lord, draw us to yourself and grant us the grace to lay our burdens before you. Open our hearts and see the sin that weighs us down. Forgive us our sins and help us to run this race by your strength.

– Sara Brown