Ps 89:15-18 “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound! They shall walk, O LORD, in the light of Thy countenance. In Thy name shall they rejoice all the day, and in Thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For Thou art the glory of their strength, and in Thy favor our horn shall be exalted. For the LORD is our defense, and the Holy One of Israel is our King.”
There is a joy and a strength that comes from weakness confessed. Coming out of denial and admitting that we have a problem which we ourselves cannot manage or overcome is the beginning of finding joy and strength. To those who do not understand, admitting weakness, surrendering to our Higher Power, Jesus, is going backwards. They think that might is right, only the strong survive etc. Never show your weakness, act tough or people will despise you and take advantage of you.
Our verses from Psalm 89 tell us a different truth. Blessed are the people who rejoice not in themselves but in Jesus, His strength, His righteousness, His mercy, His favour. He is our defence and our hope and in Him we find joy and liberty. He teaches us to confess our weaknesses to ourselves, to God, and to another human being. James 5:16 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”
I like that phrase, “so that you may be healed”! This is the way that God has ordained for our healing. I used to surf the adult channels on the TV from time to time and confess it to the Lord the following day. No matter how often I confessed my sin to the Lord I would do it again. While I was doing it I knew that he knew I was doing it but it did not stop me doing it. This went on for years until the day that I admitted the exact nature of my wrongs to another human being. I cannot explain how this works but from that day I am not tempted.
It is not that I am tempted and have found new strength to overcome, there is a measure of this but generally speaking I am no longer tempted. How did that happen? One minute I was a prisoner to my weakness, my “tendency to do the wrong thing” as John Baker puts it so well, and the next minute I was free. And I KNEW that I was free! My shame and embarrassment at confessing my sin turned to joy and liberty, a liberty that has continued to this day, more than three years later. How does that work?
I cannot explain it completely but God gives grace to the humble. He resists the proud but He gives grace (favour, strength, joy, liberty, whatever your need is) to the humble. The first word of the gospel is repent. Practical repentance is not just a feeling of sorrow or regret, it is worked out in actions, in turning away from our sins and following Jesus, taking His advice, obeying His instructions.
He tells us to confess to one another, not so that we may be humiliated and shamed but that we may be healed and liberated. It works! I and countless others can testify to this wonderful truth. We are indeed a blessed people.