Marie’s daily verse: Colossians 3:17 NLT: And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

DAILY DEVOTION, June 2, 2024

He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy (Proverbs 28:13, NKJV).

I have said this before. I did some things in my childhood that I did not want my parents to discover. I snitched a few candy bars from the local grocery store. I said some things I shouldn’t have said. I once threw a rock through a window (accidentally), and the house owner came running to where several of us boys were congregating. My Dad came out to check on the commotion. He learned what had happened, and each boy was asked,” Did you throw the rock?” We all answered, “No, sir.” My Dad said, “If my son says he did not throw the rock, I believe him.” It isn’t very comfortable even now to remember that episode. We like to hide our bad behavior from others.

Our verse reminds us that we sometimes try the same thing spiritually. We attempt to hide our sins from God. Guess what? It never works. Yes, we can hide our sins from people, but not from God. The effort to cover up our lousy behavior means we will not prosper in our relationship with God. When we know we have sinned against our holy God, the only wise course is confessing and forsaking our sinful ways. Then, we will learn that God is merciful.

Jesus died on the cross to absorb the punishment we deserve for our sins. He did not die so we could keep on disobeying God with impunity. I think sometimes Christians believe they can disobey God because when they do, nothing happens immediately. We must remember that we never get away with anything before the eyes of our heavenly Father. Confess, forsake: confess, forsake. That is the path of wisdom leading to spiritual prosperity.

Dearest Father in Heaven, I can remember things in my past that I tried to hide from my parents. I now know that as a Christian, I can hide nothing from You. Thank You for Your promise of mercy when I confess my sins unto You, along with the prayer that the Holy Spirit will help me to forsake them. I want to live my life in a manner that honors You; in Jesus’ name, Amen.