Light

 By: Carrie Hammye

"For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah 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. Selah" Ps. 32:3-5 ESV

During World War I, it became apparent that leaving wounded soldiers in closed hospital wards was causing further disease. So, they developed a therapy that included rolling the gurneys of the less critically wounded men outside the hospital barracks. They realized that letting the light in made things better. There was a marked change in the level of disease and in the morale of the men. Now ventilation and light are considered when building any medical facility.

Isn't that the truth for us, don't we need light to shine on us so we can get well? The scripture says that when I kept silent and hid my sin, I was in anguish. Our silence actually hurts. It's painful to keep the secret, to harbor the mess we have hidden. It reminds me a bit of what it's like when you pull back a rock that's been in place for a long time. When you lift it up, if it's moist under there, you see worms, and rot, and dead vegetation. If you're like me, I tend to want to put that thing right back down and ignore what was under there.

I wonder if many of us do that in our spiritual lives. We lift off the cover of the thing we aren't doing in a holy way, and take a look. Those creepy crawly things come out into the light of day, and...we slam a lid back on it. It's hard to look at what is dirty or unclean, besides it looks so much better when neatly covered, right? 

But here's the truth, what we cover up will not be restored. In the same way that removing that rock and letting the sun and air get to it will cause healing of the atmosphere under the rock, letting the light of Jesus Christ shine on our difficulties will help them to heal rather than fester. 

Doesn't this dear scripture resonate? "Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to you immediately. When great floodwaters come, they will not reach him." Ps. 32:6 Finally uncovering the sin, the problem, the failure brings relief. Why wait?

I know what you are thinking, it's so messy. It's so embarrassing to have things that we haven't dealt with for a long time come to light, possibly revealed to our mentors or our spouse or friends. Let me tell you this, though, IT IS WORTH IT. The God who knows everything will forgive the iniquity. He will heal. He will mend.

So let Jesus in. Give him full permission to see it all. Let's wheel our gurneys out into the light. Let's lift up that rock and take a long, hard look. It's worth the mess to get free.

1. Is there a sin issue you've been ignoring?

2. Take time right now to confess it to Jesus. Tell him all about it and ask for forgiveness.

3. Now, tell a trusted friend about your struggle. Ask him or her to keep you accountable and transparent about this problem.