Perceived Strength

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." - James 5:16

I have been reading through 2 Samuel recently for my daily time in the Word. Although, I have read the account of David committing adultery on Bathsheba many times, I never picked up on the correlation between that story and the one following after. Chapters 11 and 12 recount the story of David and Bathsheba, but immediately following in chapter 13, David's son Ammon rapes his sister Tamar. How revealing to the sinful heart of man is that for both stories back to back recounting the lustful desires of a father and his son. David, known after "a man after God's own heart" and his son, both falling to their sinful and selfish desires.

As I reflected on these accounts I was reminded of how easily we give into our sinful desires. The father and the son are prone to wander! You cannot be righteous enough for yourself or for your children. I am reminded of the words of Paul, "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall" (1 Cor. 10:12). The book of 1 John also says, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). We have a perceived strength against the human desire for sin, but in reality we have no real power on our own doing to resist.

So where do we go from here? To the very next verse in 1 John! Verse 9 reads, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." The truth is, we are much weaker than we often think, but God is much more forgiving and merciful than we often believe. It's not a question of if you will sin, but when. When you do, confess it.

Confess it to God, but also to others. James 5:16 says, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." In both accounts of David and Ammon, David was missing accountability when he decided to sin and Ammon had ungodly accountability. We were made to live in community and part of that is so we can together, by the power of the Holy Spirit, fight against our sinful desires. In confession, we find freedom, hope, forgiveness, and restored relationship with our Maker. He loves you, He is for you, and He sent His Son to die and rise again for you.