My Sisters in Christ-Boy am I thankful!
I shared that I am leading a neighborhood Bible Study on Lacy Rozell’s “What if We Pray”. I am thankful for the connections and discussion even on days when I feel so tired that I cannot imagine facilitating a discussion. I was excited for tonight’s study because the topic was on confession of sin and forgiveness. Part of the study focused on confession, daily confession as well as the process of confessing to another Christian. “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16, NIV).
In order to share our sins with someone else, we have to establish trust, we need to remove pride, and be willing to be vulnerable. I shared that I find that easier to do with my written word-it is easier to write something down and not have two way conversation when you are being vulnerable. We need our trusted community, not just for accountability, but so that we may pray for each other. There is strength and healing in prayer.
A small group of female military leaders share a group chat that we use to coordinate events, send congratulations and well wishes. At the end of last year, I shared that I had one of the hardest years of my adult life. I admitted that I had been brought down to my knees many times and that I could not stand on my own. I also shared that I had not reached out to this safe space and that I encouraged each of us to do that in the future. After I sent the text, I heard one notification after another as many of us shared we had similar years of trials and tribulations- a difficult year for many of us. What if we had reached out sooner? What if we had asked for prayers in the moment versus walking through those difficulties on our own?
I am reading “Hind Feet on High Places” about the spiritual journey of a child of God . One of my favorite parts so far is when the young lady realizes that she let pride, bitterness, and all these negative thoughts get in her head and she dwelled in that space. She tried to battle it on her own or ignore it and it wasn’t until much time had passed that she called out to God. Immediately all that darkness went away and she felt comforted and peace with His presence. How often do we try to battle it on our own? How often do we not hold the hands that are offered to us our lean on our God Community when we are in battles that limit our ability to pray? What if we started with prayer when these moments come-because they will happen often in our lives?
The more we try to “solve” things on our own or ignore our own sin, we move further and further away from God. When we confess our sins, in a trusted space and when we forgive those that sin against us, we draw closer to God. Developing practices of daily confession and a daily prayerful life brings God into your everyday thereby reducing the ability for other things to get between you and Him. It takes intentional practice and effort.
I shared that it’s like eating healthy food and exercising. You feel great when you are doing it, you sleep well, your mood is great. Then, you see that nice piece of chocolate cake. You know that when you eat it you will feel good in the moment. You know it will likely lead to another piece of cake and some ice cream. You also know you will start to feel bloated and lethargic but you still take that first bite. Sin in our life is the same. We know sin will lead to more sin and not bring us peace and that it is not good for us, but we still take that first bite. We will not be without sin in our life, but it is important to confess that sin to God, ask forgiveness and get back on the right path and drawing close to God.
Today, I pray that each of you continue to build and find your safe space, your accountability partners, and your community of faith. I pray that you lead a daily prayerful life and practice daily confession-enjoy that peace and freedom this brings.
