Youth

“HONESTY – Honesty that Brings Healing”

Most Christians understand and accept the importance of being honest, both with themselves and with God. In 1 John, the Bible tells us that when we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The Bible also says that Jesus took the punishment we deserve upon Himself when He died on the cross. Jesus died for my sins, so that when I confess them, God forgives them.

Usually, we tell ourselves that it doesn’t have to go any further than that: “If I’m honest with myself and with God, that’s enough.” But AHA requires more.

James 5:16 speaks of confessing our sins to one another and praying for one another “so that you may be healed.” When we are honest with God about our sins, He forgives us, but when we are honest with others, we find healing.

What does “healing” mean?

Well, the practice of confessing our sins to one another holds us accountable and helps us find the encouragement we need to break the cycle of our struggle. When we take what we have kept in the dark and drag it kicking and screaming into the light, we find that it loses much of its power over us.

And the healing James talks about is more literal than you might think. Check this out: A secular contemporary psychology textbook entitled Coping with Stress confirms the healing power of confession. The author claims that, “people who tend to keep secrets have more physical and mental complaints, on average, than people who do not… [including] greater anxiety, depression, and bodily symptoms such as back pain and headaches… The initial embarrassment of confessing is frequently outweighed by the relief that comes with the verbalization of the darker secretive aspects of the self.”

Proverbs 28:13 echoes these findings: “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

Read James 5:16.

¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Read 1 John 1:5-10.

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

How has the act of confessing your sins to others helped you in the past? Are there any secret sins that you have been bottling up, unwilling to expose them to the light?

“HONESTY – Talking to Myself”

We see the second ingredient (Brutal Honesty) of AHA in Luke 15:17: “He said to himself…”

There was no one else around. It was just him and the pigs. Sometimes the hardest conversation to have is the one you have with yourself. Brutal honesty begins when we look in the mirror and speak the truth about what we see. AHA requires you to tell the truth about yourself to yourself.

The Prodigal Son was honest with himself about what he deserved. That kind of honesty is difficult. We’d prefer the awakening without the brutal honesty.

Like the wife who wakes up to her critical spirit but refuses to say, “I have been wrong to be so negative. I know my husband needs my encouragement and support, but I’ve just complained and criticized.”

Like the husband who realizes his sexual sin but refuses to say, “My pornography problem has created a wedge in my marriage and has hardened my heart toward my wife.”

Avoiding brutal honesty will short-circuit lasting change. When there is recognition without repentance, AHA doesn’t happen. When the Prodigal Son came to his senses, he dealt with himself truthfully. The awakening must lead to honesty. Conviction must lead to confession.

After all, our heavenly Father sees and knows all, so it’s not a question of getting caught. The honesty I’m talking about is more than a simple acknowledgement; it is a kind of brokenness. Yes, you tell the person who caught you that you are sorry, but you must go beyond that. In an honest moment when no one else is around, you must tell yourself the truth about yourself and know that you are sorry.

That’s the difference between regret and repentance.

Read Luke 15:17-19.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’

Read Hebrews 4:13.

¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Have you followed up an awakening by being brutally honest with yourself? Are you honest enough with yourself to see your brokenness and how it displeases God?

“AWAKENING – Erasing Famines”

Recently I read about an experiment done by psychologist Jonathan Haidt. He came up with a fascinating hypothetical exercise, which went something like this:

Participants were handed a summary of a person’s life and asked to read it over. Participants were then asked to imagine that the person was their daughter. This is her unavoidable life story. She hasn’t been born yet, but she will be soon, and this is where her life is headed. Participants then had five minutes to edit her story. Eraser in hand, they could eliminate whatever they wanted out of her life.

The question for participants was: What do you erase first?

Most of us would instinctively and frantically begin to erase the learning disability and the car accident and the financial challenges. We love our children and would want them to live a life without those hardships, pains, and setbacks. We would all prefer our children’s lives be free from pain and anguish.

But ask yourself: Is that really what’s best?

Do we really think a privileged life of smooth sailing is going to make our kids happy? What if you erase a difficult circumstance that will wake them up to prayer? What if you erase a hardship that’s going to show them how to be joyful in spite of any circumstance? What if you erase some pain and suffering that ends up being the catalyst God uses in their life to cause them to cry out to Him? What if you erase a difficult circumstance that wakes them up to God’s purpose for their lives?

It may sound harsh to say, but the number one contributor to spiritual growth is not sermons, books, or small groups; the number one contributor to spiritual growth is difficult circumstances. I can tell you this because of personal experience, reading spiritual-growth surveys, and my own anecdotal evidence after talking to thousand of people over the years. AHA comes out of the suffering, setbacks, and challenges of life. Many people could point to those moments as their greatest moments of spiritual awakening.

Read 2 Corinthians 7:10.

¹⁰ Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

Read Luke 15:14.

¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.

What times in your life have you experienced the most spiritual growth? Were they times of plenty, or were they the hard time? Is God trying to grow you right now through some difficult trial or circumstance?