Day 5:
Uplifting the glory of God in our lives is a command. It stands as our primary goal, not only in this life but for all eternity. The question we have proposed in fulfilling this directive is, “How do we glorify God in our everyday lives?” One way to achieve this is by bearing the fruit of righteousness on a daily basis. Another way to pursue this endeavor is laid out for us in the book of Joshua. Consider the following storyline.
Joshua has succeeded Moses in leading the Israelites. As this great nation enters the promised land, Jericho stands in their way as the next city to conquer. However, the “ban” has been utilized where no one is to take for himself anything from the spoils of Jericho (6:17,18). If this ban is not followed, the camp of Israel will be accursed.
Israel defeats Jericho but Achan disobeyed the ban and took things for himself which angered the LORD (7:1). We see in verses 7:4-9 that as a result of Achan’s sin, Israel is defeated briefly by Ai which causes Joshua to cry out to the LORD in dismay. The LORD then reveals to Joshua that the ban has been violated and Israel will not be able to stand before their enemies until this disobedience has been dealt with in a decisive manner.
The following morning, Joshua, under the sovereign hand of God Himself, identify the rule breaker as lots are drawn. Once Achan has been discovered, Joshua states these words. “Then Joshua said to Achan, my son, I implore you, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me (7:19).”
So, what is another avenue we can take to live out the purpose of our existence?
CONFESSING SIN
The passage above clearly states that the confession of sin brings our LORD glory. Joshua even adds that the confession Achan is about to give, literally praise’s God. A brief definition of this word is in order to set the stage for this principle. The primary word for confession in the Old Testament means, “to throw” or to “cast.” The primary word for confession in the New Testament means, “to say the same.” So confessing is really a speaking activity where we cast our words out by agreeing with God that our sin was indeed sin. It is saying the same about our sin as He does.
Even though we are forgiven permantly from a judicial standpoint (Rom.8:1) we still sin daily. Therefore, confessing our sin is a model set forth in Scripture. John chapter 13 highlights this truth for us where Jesus washes the disciple’s feet. In I John 1:9, we read, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This verse was written to believers so confession does indeed apply to us. When Jesus is explaining how to pray in Matthew chapter 6, he says in verse 12, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Confessing then, is no mere suggestion. It is a command.
There are 150 chapters in the book of Psalms. Seven of these chapters are called penitential Psalms (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143) which is another way to say chapters on confession. With those Psalms in mind, the authors get intensely descriptive about the effects of unconfessed sin. The short list speaks of sins defilement, perversion, bondage, misery, guilt, and its ability to steal joy. These men wasted away, groaned, were drained of vitality, were greatly burdened, agitated in spirit, plagued with anxiety and even their unconfessed sin grew foul and festered.
God never intended for His children to live like this! So, as a Father who loves His children, He tells us to confess our sin so we can experience the joy of our salvation. Our first step in glorifying God is to bear fruit. However, we often fail which leads to sin. So, let us engage in another activity that glorifies Him by bringing our sin before Him and ask Him to symbolically “wash our feet.” He shockingly, is pleased to do so!
How does confession glorify God? I cannot wait to show you in our next letter.
“I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD, and You forgave the guilt of my sin (Psalm 32:5b).”
Children of Light 
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