In Need of Healing

Last night was not a restful night of sleep. I must have picked up a bad bug from somewhere and it determined to hit me with its full furry last night. Today, I went from sitting in a reclining chair and never moved the whole day. My system was going haywire, and my brain had pretty much shut down. I think I would have paid quite a bit for a solution to my situation. Unfortunately, I had to ride it out. I tried to isolate from my wife to keep her healthy. Sometimes we need to let the body fight it out. Since my stomach was queasy, I wasn’t really in the mood to try too many medications. Feeling a lot better, but still under the weather. It is amazing how something that I wasn’t trying to get ended up getting me and taking me out of commission. We often think about sin as a deliberate act of defiance against God, but often times, our sins were not things that we were looking for, not wanted. And yet, when that sin takes root in our lives, it has the ability to turn our lives upside down. The good news is that, unlike my illness, we don’t have to ride sin out. As a matter of fact, God doesn’t want us to continue to struggle with sin. Looking at 1 John 1:8-10, it says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” What if I ignored the bug I was fighting? I would probably have struggled with it much longer or needed to get some medical help. If we take our sins to Jesus, in confession and repentance, God promises to forgive our sin. Faith is what drives us to want God’s forgiveness. If, however, we confess our sins without meaning it, it is no different than telling two 5 year olds that the need to say they are sorry. They say it, but there is no true confession. Even worse is to deny that the sin is even there. Then there is no healing or restoration. If I try to claim that I am healthy when my body is riddled with sickness, my “business as usual” attitude puts myself others in jeopardy. Praise God that He forgives the repentant. Father, open our eyes to recognize and admit our sin, repent and confess it, and receive the sweet renewal for forgiveness. Amen