“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.“
– Psalm 32:5
We all have things in our lives that we shouldn’t have thought, said, or done. We have moments (or perhaps years) of selfishness, cruelty, greed, jealousy, or self-indulgence that go too far. We have rebelled against God’s good design and plan for our lives and maybe we cared about that and maybe we didn’t. There have also been times when we’ve stood by and let things happen that we should’ve said or done something to stop, but didn’t.
All these things are sin, and we’ve all sinned. Sin separates us from God who never sins. Sometimes we like to pretend sin doesn’t exist, explaining away our sins, numbing our conscience, and trying to move on. But it doesn’t really work. It doesn’t change the fact that we’ve sinned and separated ourselves from God, leaving a great gaping hole in our hearts. Other times, we know very well that we’ve sinned and we feel trapped by it. We believe that something in our past or present is so awful that we can’t ever move past our sin. We feel hopeless and condemned, defined by our sin and without a future.
The good news is that there is always a way out of sin! There is a way to be restored in relationship to God, to enjoy His love and blessing, and to experience His ongoing presence in our lives. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, who died to pay the penalty for your sins and reconcile you to your Creator, then all you must do is recognize, turn away from, and confess your sins. Know that God will, with 100% certainty, forgive everything, embracing you as His beloved child.