Day 5 – Confessing Our Sins

The moment that Adam and Eve defied God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil stands at the epicenter of human tragedy. And as bad as the situation was, our ancient ancestors made matters all the worse by refusing to take ownership of their actions. Instead, they cast blame, and their descendants have followed suit ever since.

Thankfully, there are a few exceptions to our natural human tendency to blame others. Rather than focusing on everyone else, the wise prophet Daniel took ownership of his nation’s sins:

So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. Daniel 9:3-6 (NASB)

Daniel had been a young man when the kingdom of Judah was driven into captivity. The idolatrous sins that caused a landslide of judgment were not his. They belonged to the generations before him. Even so, Daniel chose to identify with his people and to confess the sins of a nation as though they were his own.

The truth is that none of us is truly pure in heart (Galatians 3:22). God does not look lift the curse of judgment from our lives because we are so righteous, but because we have been clothed with His righteousness through faith in Christ. It is likely, then, that Daniel owned the sins of Judah because he realized his own dark potential.

Regardless of whether the sins belong to us or those around us, humbling our hearts and making confession to the Lord is a necessary component of change. An ancient verse provides a powerful encouragement to do so:

The Lord is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. Psalm 145:8

Because of God’s great mercy, and because Jesus died on the cross to purchase our forgiveness, we do not ignore sin or wallow in it. Instead, we humble ourselves and confess our sins to the Lord. Ownership, honesty, and prayer set the stage for the dominion of sin to finally be broken.

Personal Reflection: Have I brought my sins into the light by confessing them to God?

Prayer: Lord, I confess that I have sinned and that I am superior to no one.

Bible Reading:

Daniel 9:3-19

James 1:9

Hebrews 4:12-16

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