We have a room in our house
that we use as a storage space for the time being, until we find a greater use for the space or need the space as our family eventually grows. If you look on Pinterest at what some people’s storage spaces look like, you see stills of flawlessly organized and well-utilized closets, pantries, mudrooms… you name it, there’s a near perfect example of what you hope and dream to achieve in your space.
But ours… let’s just say if there were some sort of anti-Pinterest, a website where you saw the most disorganized and undesirable photos of whatever your search was, our storage room would probably find its way on there. It’s been this way for quite some time, yet it still goes unbothered because there’s this beautiful thing called a door. I can close that door and it all seems to magically go away… at least from my line of sight, and I can forget about it until I need to go back in there for something.
But if that door were not there or if I couldn’t close it, I would have addressed this chaotic mess MUCH sooner. As soon as I would hear of company coming over, that room, while it wouldn’t look perfect, would be in much better shape than it is right now because someone else could see my mess. When the mess in our lives is exposed to others, we deal with it. (Even now, confessing this to you stirs in me the urge to start dealing with it).
“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” Proverbs 28:13
There is something powerful about showing or telling someone about what we keep behind closed doors—our mess, our sin. Telling a trusted brother or sister in Christ should bring accountability and change.
The book of James says,
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” James 5:16
The Bible is clear that the life of a Christian is not “just me and God”—it’s me, and God, and others. Accountability will not happen magically on its own. We must confess; we must tell someone the truth of what is in our lives and in our hearts.
And when someone lets you in, when someone confesses something to you… pray with them. The Bible doesn’t say offer your best advice, show them what scripture says, or to just be a listening ear. While those things are good and an important part of letting someone feel heard and loved, if we don’t pray with that person and continue to do so after the fact, we miss the power of God at work.
Now to start cleaning up that room…
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