While seeking to destroy a stronghold, I’ll eventually ask, “Have you ever done anything you’ve never told anyone?” Most people pause, not to consider if they’ve got a shameful secret, but if they’ll tell me. Eventually, they pull back the mask and let me see what they’re hiding. But I’m not finished. I then ask, “Has anything ever happened to you that you’ve never told anyone?”
The answers are heartbreaking. But equally sad is the damage done to their mind and body because they hide a toxic secret. Such secrecy is as unhealthy as refusing to lance a boil because it would hurt.
Confession is essential to a healthy heart, mind and body. James put it this way, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). If you’ve got a shameful secret, you need to tell someone you trust.
So true Bill. The enemy loves to keep us in the darkness by shaming us into the belief that our friends or family would reject us if they knew our secrets. But the light of confession brings freedom and real friends will love us in spite of our hurts and failures. Walking in the light is a crucial step to breaking free from our habits, hurts and hangups.