Thursday, May 3, 2012

The Power of Confession.

I have a confession to make. For the past few months up until very recently, I had been struggling with doubts about my salvation. Part of the problem stemmed from my younger brother's rejection of God, which happened  about a year before that, although that realization didn't hit me for a long time. Although I wasn't quite sure what was causing it, I knew I was feeling distant from God and I needed to get back on track. 

God revealed to me through the words of friends and one of my professors that believing in Him and his sacrifice is a choice. My heart might tell me that God isn't real, that he doesn't exist, and that I've committed too many terrible sins to be a child of God, but that's not true! I'm not worthy on my own, but through Christ's death on the cross for my sins and resurrection on the third day, I've been given new life. 

Last Tuesday night I felt God compelling me to go to A Night of Worship with [re]Kindle, so I went and texted a few of my friends to invite them to go, too. Only Mia responded saying she could go because everyone else was too busy, so she met me in the room where it was held soon after the event started. The speaker spoke on the topic of suffering and then afterwards she asked us to pray together in small groups, confessing sins and struggles to one another and then lifting each other up in prayer. I confessed to Mia that I’d been struggling with believing that I was really saved, so she prayed for me to be assured of my salvation. Her words were simple, but they hit the spot, and really encouraged me. Since then, I haven’t had another doubt about my salvation, but rather a peace and trust that the Lord has saved me and a quiet conviction to do more for Christ.

God is always faithful, even when we are not, and choosing to believe in him no matter what our hearts tell us is taking a bold step of faith that pleases Him greatly. :)