"What Is"

 Times I thought I couldn’t last,

‘Cause voices, places from my past,

Dogged me close and held me fast,

And I could not break free.

For so long my worst regret,

Said that it would get me yet,

I thought I might just lose that bet,

That’s how it felt to me.

I pulled on boots and cowboy hat,

I caught my horse, my saddle sat,

The cowboy way and all of that,

Became just where I went.

And with all those stronger hands,

I rode across the broad grasslands,

A horseback with no greater plans,

Than get these years all spent.

But bottom line I needed Him,

To help me rein regret all in,

And finally confess my sin,

His grace to me was free.

And now my cowboy life is His,

And life’s not perfect but it is,

Better than the devil’s biz,

And he can’t steal from me,

What God has done, you see.

“But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness…” (1 John 1:9, NLT)

There is great power in confession. Why? Because when we confess our sins to God we are both seeing our sin as God sees it and totally agree with Him on what it is. Confession means we call it what God calls it with ruthless honesty. We don’t make excuses or blame others. We take responsibility before God and come clean with Him. In fact full confession brings full cleansing, and there is really no other way to be free. Until then, the enemy will use regret to beat us up. When we’ve truly been forgiven, grace trumps condemnation and grace makes us regret-free.

Lord, help us confess totally so that we may be totally forgiven, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Don Dane, dondane.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Don, and God bless you.