Confession is good

Reading Nehemiah 9:3 and I did a double take--"While they stood in their place, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God." First of all, I noticed their respect for the Word of "the Lord their God." They stood for a very long time while it was being read. They were willing to stand to hear it while most of us are not even sitting to read it. They understood that the Scripture is the word of "the Lord their God"--a message from the Almighty--worthy of listening to. Most of us are more interested in the commodities markets, the stock market, the NBA playoff scores, the latest gossip, recent updates on the oil spill in the gulf, or the Hottest Hollywood Happenings. Lord help us to see the relevance and importance of your Word.

The most jolting reality from this text for me this time as I read it was the fact that for one fourth of the day the people responded to the reading of the word by "confessing their sins" and worshiping. I deliberately spent some time in confession this morning and I'm telling you it was not even close to one fourth of the day, maybe closer to one fourth of an hour. This makes me think that there must be a great gap in my understanding of how wretched I really am. I realize that exposure to the "light of God's word" is essential for exposing the darkness of my soul. The rest of Chapter nine is a recounting of God's marvelous mercy as He graciously dealt with the rebellious people. He is "Gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness" (9:17b).

Spend a little time in God's Word today and let it expose the darkness of your soul. Then turn to the Lord, confess your sin and experience what it means to be whole.