You Can’t Surprise God

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "— and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:5


We all put sin into different categories. There are sins that only really terrible people commit that we would never commit. There are sins that we enjoy. “If loving you is wrong, I don’t want to be right.” There are sins that we can justify. “I’m only doing this because of the way that they’re acting.” There are sins that we don’t realize are actually sins. And, there are sins that we have absolutely no explanation for. We don’t like doing it. We can’t stop doing it. We don’t understand why we’re doing it. We just sin (Romans 7).


There is a certain pleasure in sin. If people didn’t enjoy sinning, it would be a very difficult sale. Sin doesn’t need a great deal of marketing. We’re ready to buy. But, shortly after sinning, the pleasure is replaced by guilt and shame (Hebrews 11:25; Jeremiah 3:25). Sin separates us from God. Okay, maybe we make it into Heaven by the skin of our teeth (Job 19:20; 1 Corinthians 3:15), but if sin stands between us and God, then it’s harder to turn to God. If we don’t feel that we can turn to God with an area of life, then we turn back to sin. (Wash. Rinse. Repeat.)


God already knows everything that there is to know about us. In theology, we say that God is omniscient. That God knows everything. He has all knowledge. He doesn’t need to learn. He just knows. There is nothing that you can tell God about yourself that will surprise Him. God is never going to say, “Oh, Myself, I didn’t know that about you.” He already knows.


Confession is not for God’s sake. It’s for us. In confessing, we say, “God, I can’t seem to do any better than what I’ve been doing. The way that I have chosen to run my life is not working. Please forgive me for violating your commands and empower me to live the life that You have chosen for me.” God does not berate us. God doesn’t chide us with “I told you so.” God doesn’t make us pay. Jesus already did.


Andy Stanley puts it this way, “Do you think God can be trusted? Or do you think you need to take things into your own hands?" In our own hands, we can certainly make a mess of things.


What sin do you need to give up on today? What do you see in your life that is not working? Confess that thing to God. Seek His forgiveness. Want His help.




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