The gift of confession

Spiritual healing takes place when you’re able to confess your problem to someone mature enough to handle it and committed enough to not give up on you. What does it mean to “walk in love?” (a) To be confident of God’s unfailing love toward you. (b) To show His love to others. (c) To be able to accept their love in return. Only then can you become spiritually whole. You can only be loved to the extent that you’re known. When you keep part of your life a secret, others may tell you they love you, but deep inside you think, “If you knew the whole truth about me, you wouldn’t love me.” So you’re unable to receive and be strengthened by their love. Sin isolates us, and sin and isolation will make us sick in our soul and even our body. Confession and then prayer, connectedness to each other and to God, ushers in the Spirit and promotes healing. To be fully known and fully loved is the most healing gift we can give to each other. The Bible says, “Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed” (James 5:16 NAS). We’re all forgiven, recovering sinners, and no one can be secure in a relationship if they’re loved only because they’re intelligent, strong, pretty, or successful. One Bible teacher said, “When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find it is those who instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.”