The Rx for Failure
Today’s Verse:
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. ~Proverbs 28:13
All of us have experienced failure in one way or another. It could have been a failing grade on a test or class. It could have been a losing season. It could have been a business venture that went out of business. It could have been our inability to live up to a required standard of excellence. Failure hurts. Failure is a setback. Failure makes us feel like we do not belong in the company of people whom we deem successful. Of all the failures we can experience, the worst failure is living with unconfessed sin. This morning, let us see how unconfessed sin results in failure, and God’s unfailing prescription in overcoming this.
We see the refusal.
“He that covereth his sins.” The cover-up of our sins is the premeditated attempt to conceal and hide from the truth that we crossed a forbidden line and sinned against God. Cover-up is due to the shame that we know we did wrong. When we cover up, we are hoping that no one finds out what we did and that eventually “this issue will go away.” Adam and Eve tried to cover up their sin in the garden. Saul tried to cover up his sin concerning the Amalekites. David tried to cover up his sins with Bathsheba and against Uriah the Hittite. Are there sins you are trying to cover up?
We see the ruin.
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper.” The cover-up of sin is failure in our life. First, God knows that we have sinned. Second, our sin will find us out. Third, our conscience will bother and haunt us, leading to unrest and anxiety. Fourth, all our prayers will be unanswered while we live with unconfessed sin. Fifth, God will chasten and discipline us when we have unconfessed sin. Sixth, we can develop a seared conscience if we live with unconfessed sin over a long period of time. Seventh, we put those around us at risk. Eighth, God cannot bless us. We are out of fellowship with God. All unconfessed sin results in failure and ruin in our lives.
We see the remedy.
“But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” The prescription for overcoming sin is truthful repentance, confession, and forsaking of this sin. Confession is making a full and contrite acknowledgement. It is telling God exactly what you did, that it was sin, and that you are desperately in need of His forgiveness. Then, we must forsake our sin. There is no victory over sin until we turn our back on it, and, by God’s grace, cut it off. Forsaking our sin is coming to the place where we hate our sin as much as God hates sin.
We see the restoration.
The result of confession and forsaking of sin leads to mercy. The picture is of a criminal standing before a judge regarding his crime. The criminal has confessed that he sinned and is forsaking it. As he does so, he begs for the mercy of the court to spare him punishment and to allow him to start with a clean slate. When the judge exercises mercy, there is forgiveness, a fresh start, and restoration to his previous status before he committed the crime. That’s what happens when we receive God’s mercy. God’s mercy spares us further grief. It is His forgiveness of our sins and restoration of fellowship. That is real success!
Confessing and forsaking our sin is failing forward. It is getting right with God and being in the place of God’s favor and blessing. Don’t let sin linger in your life. Deal with it quickly and seek the mercy of God in your life.
Have a victorious God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Psalm 78-79