Daily Hope with Rick Warren 2nd January 2025, Thursday Devotional Message
Confession Leads to Connection
By Rick Warren
“Your wrongs have separated you from your God, and your sins have made him hide his face so that he doesn’t hear you.” Isaiah 59:2 (GW)
Nothing makes us feel more miserable than hidden guilt. When we’re holding on to our mistakes, we’re always worried somebody’s going to find out, and that leaves us nervous and stressed and unhappy. You cannot be happy and guilty at the same time!
And so, we mask it. We try to push it down and cover it up. We get involved in activities or work or relationships and keep busy so we don’t have to think about what we did wrong.
Whatever things you’ve done wrong—your sins, your regrets, your failures—you don’t have to drag that pile of guilt behind you into another day. You can drop it and come clean to God about your sin.
Why is it important to come clean? Because guilt disconnects you from God.
Do you ever feel distant, detached, or disconnected from God? Do you ever feel like your prayers are just bouncing off the ceiling and it seems like God is a million miles away?
God didn’t move. You did.
Isaiah 59:2 says, “Your wrongs have separated you from your God, and your sins have made him hide his face so that he doesn’t hear you” (GW). When you have a bunch of guilty garbage piled up between you and God, you can’t see over it to connect with him. It separates you from God.
How often do you take out the garbage in your house? Once a year? I hope not! If you did, your house would stink. Most people take the garbage out at least every few days, if not every day.
It’s time to learn to keep short accounts with God. At the end of every day, you have to ask God, “What’s the garbage between you and me? What’s keeping me from knowing you and serving you and loving you and others well?” Then, get rid of it. Confess it to God, and let it go.
You don’t want to carry guilt that weighs you down for one more day. Bring it into the light and let God cover it with his grace.
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