Give a Shout Out to Your Church!

Give a Shout Out to Your Church!

By Machelle McDowell

Psalm 84:10-12 “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.  I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!”

“How lovely is your dwelling place, Oh Lord?” This is a question we should ask ourselves. Psalm 84 is a chapter about men who loved their church. Why did they love their church?… Because, their motives were in check.

These men got it right! They did not show up at the house of God for a program or to hear a good speaker, or even great worship music, (these are all good things if used to bring glory to God), but they showed up to meet with God.

Sometimes, I think we just need a gentle reminder of why we go to the house of the Lord. These men “desired” to be in the house of the Lord. They longed to be in God’s presence.

When was the last time you got ready to go to church and was so excited to go meet with the Lord? (Be honest), the truth is, we lack passion for worship because we have forgotten who the author of that worship is.

Our time in God’s house has become “attendance” based. We attend to check off the block, we attend to show face, we attend to socialize, but seldom do we attend for the sole purpose of being fully present for God. Harsh words? Maybe, but there is so much truth in them, if we are honest.

When I think of a doorkeeper in the house of my God mentioned in verse 10, I cannot help but think of a Godly gentleman in our church who greets us every week consistently with a smile and a handshake. The joy that comes from his presence is contagious and more than welcoming. He never waivers. He is the same every week. He is a firm believer that every day in His courts are better than a thousand elsewhere. “How lovely is your dwelling place, Oh Lord?”

Have we forgotten that our God is a sun and shield that verse 11 speaks of? A light that leads us through a dark world and a shield that protects us along the way and that God bestows favor and honor: no good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

Friends, we are blessed when we go to the house of the Lord for the purpose of meeting with God. “Blessed is the one who trusts in you!”

I recently spent time on a Native American reservation where there were a small cell of Christian believers who meet “wherever” for Bible study. Why? Because they have no church building. They have no pastor to lead them. But, here is what they do have that a lot of us don’t. They have the desire that is mentioned in Psalm 84 to meet with their God, Jesus Christ.

Corporate worship in a building filled with committed people who would rather be at church than anywhere else is a gift. “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.”

Here is a spoiler alert. The church is its people. Whether you meet under a tree or in a 5 million dollar building, the question remains, “How lovely is your dwelling place, Oh Lord?” Are you there to meet with God?

Who are you dwelling with? “Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!”

Let’s love our churches because of the God that meets us there! When we begin to think differently about why we go to church, I think we will begin to see our faith revived and our joy increase!

We will become a doorkeeper in the house of our God who invites the holy spirit to our worship services instead of hindering its presence by showing up in the wrong frame of mind and heart.

My soul longs for the Courts of the Lord!

Psalm 84:1-2

How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord of hosts!

My soul longs, yes, faints

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to the living God.

When Silence is not Golden.... or is it?

When Silence is not Golden or is it?

By Machelle McDowell

Have you ever been silenced by this sound, “Shhhh?” It is a request for us to be quiet.

What is the purpose of being quiet? A teacher may use this method to quiet the classroom or a parent to hush their child. Most times than not, it is for the purpose of being able to hear something important.

The word, silence has loomed over me often recently as it seems to be the only answer that comes to mind as I listen to so many people that I love share their hearts about how they are going through a season of “silence.”

The only answer from God seems to be, “silence.” Their prayers seem to be unheard or are they?

Situations where the voice of God is begged to be heard or his hand to be felt to address unexplained health issues or a family facing serious life decisions that are in limbo and whatever the outcome will effect people’s lives forever. What do we do?

No visible answer is apparent, “Why the silence, Lord?”

There is hope, friends!

God has reminded me of so many instances where “SILENCE” was the answer! He shows us his power through the silence.

We are bombarded by the things of world that are overwhelming.  As we take a peek at the end of (Matthew ch.4), it summarizes the setting by painting the picture of huge crowds that swarmed around Jesus and the baggage they bore…… as the sick flocked around him, the demon possessed followed him, the curious stalked him………he was bombarded.

It amazed me how he responded in this passage……… Jesus himself demonstrated in (Matthew 5:1) that he saw the crowds and he went up on the mountain…he needed to sit in silence. Why?

This is us friends, when we are bombarded with the woes of the world that come in different packages for all of us sometimes, silence is the answer we seek.

God does many miracles through silence. God is doing something much bigger than we can wrap our heads around.

Another precious story where silence spoke loudly!  Jesus raised his friend, Lazarus from the dead! The story is found in (John 11). Lazarus’ sisters cried out to Jesus for help and he was silent for days as their brother laid ill to the point of death. He didn’t answer them the way they thought he should have. He should have come urgently in their minds/hearts.  Through the silence miracles were unfolded in many ways beyond their understanding.

Martha & Mary had no clue that Jesus’s silence was the answer to their prayer by restoring their brother’s life! They sat for days in confusion, disappointment, sadness, as they waited for their friend who could have made a difference.  Have you been there?

Where was he? And, why did he choose to be silent? Have you asked yourself these same questions? Have you felt like Mary & Martha? Where are you, Lord? Aren’t you going to do something?

As they sat in silence Jesus was speaking prayers over heir lives that would transform them in ways they could not have imagined.  He was going to show them something so much bigger than anything they could ask!

Through the silence their doubt turned to praise, gratefulness, thankfulness, and awe! The answer came in the form of “silence,” but the beauty is what happened in their lives during the time of silence. They become strong in their weakness!

Beyond anything they could have asked, their brother was raised from the dead!

Last but not least, one of my favorite passages found in (2 Cor 12:7-10) addresses another fella who received an answer from God through silence, Paul.

We are unsure as to what Paul’s thorn was, but the jest of the truth was that God allowed it to remain with Paul throughout his ministry. A constant irritation and annoyance.

Paul pleaded with God (3) times to remove this “thorn” but God refused. Paul sat in silence waiting on the answer he wanted but never came. God’s answer was silence on the matter. The thorn would remain for His purposes are greater than our own. However; he did not leave Paul helpless but promised him His grace!

God’s grace would be sufficient for Paul to live with this thorn. The thorn that kept him humbly dependent on his creator. Paul would become totally submissive to the God who call him out from the darkness. His answer was far better than having the thorn removed. The silent answer prepared Paul for greater purposes!!

As you sit in silence, sit in expectancy! What is God up to? I assure you, it is far better than anything you can imagine….Silence is golden!

Blessed are the Forgiven (Psalm 32)

Blessed Are The Forgiven

By Machelle McDowell                        (Psalm 32)

March 13, 2023

Psalm 32:5- I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Let’s skate through Psalm 32 and take a peek at how refreshing and reassuring it is to experience the relief that confession of sin brings. The freedom from the imprisonment of guilt, shame, dishonor, bitterness, resentment, unworthiness, and all other arsenal that Satan uses to confine us in our sin.

David suffered the consequences of his sin many times throughout his life as do we.  He came to understand fully the blessing of grace & forgiveness that pour into our lives when we confess our sin to God.

Grace & forgiveness stem from the beautiful act on the cross. Colossians 2:14 describes it so well. In summary, Jesus canceled our sin debt by nailing it to the cross!

We can envision Jesus hanging on the cross with pages upon pages filled with lists of sins from our lives nailed to the cross right alongside him!

The bad decisions from the past, the bad attitudes from last week, the faults that haunt us- the sin trap we find ourself entangled in right now…all of it was there on that day! All of it blotted out by his blood to be remembered no more! AMEN!

He knew the price we would pay for our sin…..death! He chose death to save us!

It is difficult for us to wrap our heads around the idea that when we confess and repent of sin, those mistakes are hidden in God’s sight! We are cleansed! Hallelujah! A new beginning is such a refreshing though, isn’t it?

Are you bogged down? Are you wallowing in past sin or maybe there is a sin pattern you are stuck in and can’t move beyond?

The blessing of forgiveness starts with confession. What happens when we keep sin silent? It kills us! It kills everything “good” in us and around us.

Psalm 32:3 points out that we think we can hide sin from God by keeping silent when in essence God can be our hiding place!

Take a look at Psalm 32:7-“You are a hiding place for me: you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.” This is such a verse of comfort for us!

Don’t be like the stubborn horse or mule that Psalm 32:9 references. Our pride keeps us from humbling ourselves before God confessing our sin and repenting.

When I read Psalm 32:9, I was reminded of an old tale about a stubborn mule. The mule fell into an old abandoned well. An old farmer tried to save him but could not, so he decided to bury it alive filling in the well to prevent future mishaps.

All the while, the farmer pitched shovels of dirt into the well, the stubborn mule shook the dirt from his head and eventually, the dirt piled up high enough that the stubborn mule climbed to safety! Moral of the story: Don’t give in! Don’t be buried alive in your own sin!

We must learn to be pliable in His hands. We must be able to yield ourselves and not be stiff necked. Rejecting God will bring about his “bit and bridle” against us mentioned in Psalm 32:9.

We have all fallen in a hole that has been dug out by the sin in our lives at some point. The hole gets bigger and bigger and all at once, we find ourselves in it! Swallowed!

But, the question remains, How do you handle it when that happens? Do you repent? Do you remain? Are you stubborn enough to not let Satan have the victory? Fight.

Are you willing to reroute your stubborn nature enough to persevere and lean on the truths found in Psalm 32:10? “Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trust in the Lord”

Trust the Lord today!

How can you be forgiven? It begins with admitting your sin and wanting to turn away from it. You have to choose to believe in Jesus and that He is the only way to come to God. He is God’s son who was born to be our Saviour. He took on the sin of the world by dying on the cross and paid our sin debt with his blood so that when we come to him in prayer and ask for his forgiveness, it is fully granted. He pours out his grace upon us and our sin is forgiven and we are promised eternity with him forever!

Check out these verses: Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, Romans 9:10, & Romans 10:13……One of my favorites that summarize his grace is I John 1:9, “If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive our sin, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

That verse says it all, friend!

Through It All

-Brandon Walker

 I was talking to a church family member the other day, and I asked the usual, "How's everything going for you right now?"   I got a pretty honest answer, which, if I'm being honest, is rare in itself.  I have found that most of us will pass up a wonderful opportunity to share our burdens with our brothers and sisters in Christ and just simply answer "I'm good," or "Just fine," when some things in our lives are anything but "good" or "fine."  Anyways, this particular church member answered with "I'm 'going through it' right now honestly."  We got to have a good conversation and counseling session, and it reminded me of the truth that we will all "go through it" in our lives on this earth. As a matter of fact, storms and trials are just as much part of our experience as Christians on this earth as the mountain top experiences.  And, without one, you can't have the other.  A valley wouldn't exist unless there were high points on both sides of it.  Such is our life and journey in this life as we follow our Savior through it all.  The "mountain tops" of life can give us rest, reflection, and gratitude.  The valleys of our faith walk can strengthen our faith, force us to walk closer with our Lord, and even give us gratitude for the mountain tops of life.  Both serve their holy purpose as they are all under the watchful and loving eyes of our Heavenly Father.  
     In Psalm 71, David was getting close to the end of his reign as king, and as David did quite a bit in the Psalms, he was asking God for help and deliverance from his enemies.  We could all learn a thing or two about prayer by reading the Psalms more often.  David's consistency in his prayers shows that David understood what it takes to make it in those times where he was "going through it." He knew God was His strength, and nothing else would do but God.  In chapter 71, he goes on to say  "I have become a sign to many; you are my strong refuge.My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long."  What David meant was he knew that people were watching him as he "was going through it."  Those around David knew of his struggles and trials, and his life had become a "sign" to others.  In other words, all the times that God had answered David's prayers, rescued him from His enemies, and even raised him up to a place of honor, had become testimonies of God's goodness, and people were marveled by these wonders in his life. And, David couldn't keep silent about these things.  He "declared God's splendor all day long."  One of God's purposes for trials is for us to tell of His mighty saving work when we come out of the other side of "going through it."  That's what David did. His life was an ongoing testimony of God's goodness, as so ours should be.  Christian, any and all circumstances in our lives, good or bad, we should praise Him to others.  Maybe you remember "going through it" in the past and it seems that all it brought you was nothing but pain and a scarred memory.  Have you praised Him for bringing you through it?  Maybe that's what you're missing; you're not giving Him the glory for preserving your life as you "went through it."  David may have had his mistakes in life, but he also got a lot right.  He was a man after God's own heart.  He gave glory to and praise to whom it rightfully belonged.  He knew that was His purpose in life.  It's ours, too.  We are called to reflect His glory in all we do and say, and tell of His wondrous works in our lives.  Let's declare His splendor all day long.  

Bribery at its Best

Bribery at its Best

By Machelle McDowell

March 1, 2023

Psalm 26: 8-10 “Oh Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.  Do not sweep my soul away with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men, in whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes.

What is a bribe? The dictionary defines it as to persuade someone to act in one’s favor, typically illegally or dishonestly, by a gift of money or other inducement.

Let’s camp out on the side of “other inducement” for a moment.

Unfortunately, we are not as innocent as we would like to think when it comes to bribery. Offering bribes and being a party to accepting a bribe are woven into our daily walk!

For example: Parenting offers bribery frequently! Does this sound familiar, “Little Johnny, if you eat your veggies, I have a treat for you,” or “Suzy, if you clean your room you can go to the game tonight?”

We would like to think that we would not be a part of taking a bribe, but in essence, we do it everyday!

Our greatest enemy, Satan uses this tool to bribe us in all areas of our life…..SIN!

It’s everywhere. He bribes us with entertainment, pleasures, feelings, emotions, and a lengthy list of “other inducements.”

Verse 10 grabbed my attention in a strange way. When I read this verse, “Do not sweep my soul away with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men, in whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes,” (read it again slowly),…..Two images popped into my head:

Satan and a cell phone/social media! What?

Most of the time God’s glory does not dwell on our cell phones. If we are honest with ourselves, the cell phone robs us of God’s glory.

I can attest, I am guilty, some mornings as I read my Bible will go online to research a verse or a concept I didn’t fully understand and suddenly find myself in a rabbit hole reading some article about something far from what God had planned for me that morning! Have you been there? Distraction is one of Satan’s “other inducement” tactics!

Now granted when David wrote this Psalm he was not referencing a cell phone, (David in essence is talking about walking in integrity in these verses).

I am just sharing an implication/application that could very well be addressed in our culture today. Bear with me as I unfold my thought. LOL

Our enemy Satan is bloodthirsty. He is out to bribe us at whatever cost to follow him to the point of death! He prowls around like a lion seeking who he can devour. (I Peter 5:8)

Think about it, when the lion is on a hunt for a kill he goes to an area where a herd is hanging out. They have their guard down. He looks for the weakest link and attacks.

Doesn’t it make sense he would be very present on our cell phones/social media? That’s where the herd is!!

He and his minions use evil, (other inducements) in ways that make sin look so alluring through “good” platforms that he twists in ways that lead to destruction if sucked in.

He can destroy a person, a relationship, a marriage, a family, a church, and in essence mass destruction!

In my opinion, the enemy uses the cell phone/social media as one of the leading platforms to introduce “sin bribery” tools into our world today.

I’m not a cell phone/social media basher. The cell phone is a good source of communication. And, it can reach more people for Christ than any other tool available to us. It is the handler that can make the difference.

How to avoid hands full of bribes? Assess where you are being tempted most? Are there particular areas of temptation continuing to lurk around you and breed negative responses on your part?

Let me show you how quickly Satan can affect us using the power of bribery through the method of “other inducements.” …………..Ponder on the example below:

Though the bribe be small, yet the fault is great.. (Edward Coke)

Maybe it is as innocent as scrolling the newsfeed on FB? But, you find yourself coveting someone else’s lifestyle and it has caused you to have thoughts of unhappiness and discontentment with your on life. Maybe to the point of questioning your loyalty to your spouse, your family, your job, your friend, and maybe even your church? ……….Wow, that escalated quickly.

That my friend is a good example of the art of “bribery” perfected by the Father of Lies-SATAN!

After all, he used the same tactic on Jesus when Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness  being tempted. Satan showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

Then, he threw him the bribe…….Matthew 4:1-11 “If you will bow down and worship me. I will give you all these things.” Jesus said, “Get away from me Satan!” “It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”

We can glean much from this passage…..Jesus defeated Satan with scripture. We can too!

Now, let me share the good part of Psalm 26!  David saved the best for last. The verses that complete this Psalm give us hope and bring words of protection against the bribes Satan and his minions may have in store for us.

(vs. 11)- But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me.

(vs.12)-My foot stands on level ground; in the great assembly I will bless the Lord.

Don’t let the enemy extort you! Plant your feet on level ground. Bless the Lord, oh my soul!

Beauty and the Beast

How do you define beauty?

Beauty and the Beast

By Machelle McDowell

Do you feel pressure in today’s society to look a certain way? Do you spend more time and emphasis on your outward appearance, or your inward beauty?

The outward beauty beast within us, (pride & vanity) wages war with the inward beauty that God wants us to pursue.

I use to think that physical aging of my body would not affect me. I was wrong, LOL!  As I am getting older the marks of each year are upon my face…and I think I lose an eyebrow for each year! I will soon be browless and not to mention the turkey neck I have acquired and am not happy about.

My appearance does effect me more than I realize. Why? Is it the thought of getting older?  Will people look at me differently?

I am not a wine drinker and cannot claim to know a lot about wine. I have heard people say that wine tastes better with age. The Bible even mentions the superiority of aged wine, (Luke 5:39), “No one after drinking old wine desires new, for the old is good.”

Interesting. Maybe, the ingredients that have been blended together in the wine along with a long process of marination has created a beautiful thing?? It is said that the “wine’s flavors mature.” I can’t profess to know. So does that mean maturity brings beauty along with it?

Things of beauty take time. Women spend hours each morning primping. Guys, you are included in the group as well, just on a different level. That will be another blog on another day, LOL

We cannot artificially produce beauty, maybe temporarily. Even the most made up face must be “washed” at some point and, there you have it…the beast comes out, (LOL).  We can only hide behind fake for so long. This is so true with our Christianity.

God values what is going on inside. Our morning ritual should be more about painting the “temple” and not so much painting the barn, (LOL).

Focusing on the attributes of God and a little less focus on our crows feet. God is doing a work in all of us. It takes time. He looks at our heart. He desires us to have a gentle and quiet spirit and quick to love.

When the beauty of the Lord is rooted in our lives the fruits of our spirit are evident and will portray who Jesus really is through our actions, words, and deeds.

Physical beauty is vain and sometimes brings out the beast in us and not the best in us.. Proverbs 31:30 speaks that charm is deceitful and that beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

What is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal. What is inside is more valuable than what you see on the outside.

One day we will stand before our creator and he will not judge us based on our outward appearance rather he will judge us based on our relationship with him and who we are on the inside.

God never uses outward appearance to determine beauty.  A good example is found in I Samuel 16.

The prophet Samuel was examining Jesse’s sons in search of the next king of Israel, he was impressed with Eliab’s appearance, (one of the older sons). God told Samuel,  “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.”

David was the youngest of 8 sons and the least experienced to be chosen king. God’s ways are not ours.

God was in search of inner beauty found in David’s heart! He was found to be a man after God’s own heart.

So many great men & women of God mentioned in the Bible for the way they served God and loved him NEVER mentions but (rarely) what they looked like! LOL

I don’t want to be a hypocrite here….hey, I am all about painting the barn…all I am asking is, “What would happen if we spent more time and effort on the inside of our barns verses the outside?” I want to be remembered as a woman after God’s own heart!

This should be a lesson in itself to us: I Peter 3:3-4 “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, “the unfading beauty of a gently and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

Double Hearts are Double Trouble

By Machelle McDowell

January 25, 2023

Ahhh how sweet….when we see a double heart emoji our brain prompts a warm feeling that comes over us.

Sometimes couples will use the double heart emoji in a wedding setting to represent their hearts being united and beating as one.

Wow! The Bible has a unique twist on the double heart concept.

Psalm 12:2 sets the scene for a totally different connotation of the meaning of the “double heart”.  “Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.” What?   

This passage outlines a time in David’s life when those around him were speaking out of both sides of their mouths. A time in which he felt very much alone simply because he did not know who he could trust other than God himself.

Thomas Adams describes it like this: They speak with a double heart.  One for the church, another for the change; one for Sundays, another for working days; one for the king, another for the pope.  A man without a heart is a wonder, but a man with two hearts is a monster.”

The Bible has much to say about being double minded/double hearted which are one in the same.

God did not create us to have (2) minds or (2) hearts. He created us to have one of each and for the mind and the heart to love God and others. “Love God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Mark 12:30.

Honestly, if you hear of another human being having (2) minds or (2) hearts, it is a phenomenon and rare.

There is a reason for that! God intends for us to be completely submissive to him. One mind one accord.

This might be a silly example but I recently read that an octopus has (3) hearts! The main heart pumps blood to the whole of its body, (but) one pumps blood to certain of its gills (legs) and the other pumps blood to the other gills.

Now, picture with me…Even though there are (3) hearts they each have a specific job to do. In essence they can’t serve 3 masters. The heart that pumps blood into the gills (legs) of the octopus cannot pump blood into the body or the legs will die without its life blood…are you following me?

We cannot serve (2) masters.  That’s what happens when we are double minded/double hearted…we are trying to serve 2 masters. We crave the world but want Christ too.

Satan’s favorite tool is a double minded Christian. In his/her weakness he finds strength…If you are restless and confused you are a choice morsel for him….If you sense a lack of direction, he will not hesitate to guide you…. If you lack God’s confidence and lean on your own, do not be surprised if God does not grant your prayers…..I speak truth friend not out of arrogance but love:

James 1:5-8 calls a double minded man “unstable.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.  For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

We either believe or we don’t. We either love God or not. We can’t be certain & doubt at the same time.

David is saying in summary, “Christian, you can’t speak Christ and live with the devil.” Pick one. Who will you serve?

Burdened By The Weight

Today, I'm going to be pretty transparent about something I've struggled with many times. In all honesty, I've struggled with this more than I care to admit. But, I talk about this because I am certain many of us deal with this issue in some fashion. And, Im also certain that many struggle with what I'm about to share, but don't even know it. And that thing I have struggled with is something so deceptive and hidden, that it was difficult to put my finger on until more recently than I care to admit. Some days, it seems that I would struggle with just being tired and exhausted. Before you eye roll, let me finish. Because I know, we're all tired and exhausted at times. But, I'm talking about the kind that sleep and rest don't fix. The kind that makes it hard to function some days. It was a heaviness that just seemed to never go away. At times, I thought it was depression, or just simply a part of aging. And while some of us are more prone to responding to stress in a negative way physically and mentally, I just felt that it was something more. I've been stressed before. I've been stressed before a lot actually. It's part of the life we live on this earth. But one day, that changed, and I want to share how it changed for the better. It's something I've been taught by the Lord Himself. Looking back, it was glaringly obvious what was causing my misery. But before, I was convinced it was everything else in the world causing my misery except the one thing I refused to see. That "thing" was unconfessed sin.

In the book of Psalms, chapter 38 we get a very clear description of David in some pretty intense misery and pain. In verse 3 he writes, "there is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation, there is no health in my bones because of my sin." Later in verse 7, he says, "there is no soundness in my flesh." David was having some pretty serious physical and mental issues. All because of sin in his life, and the Lord's displeasure in it. David writes and expresses the weight of discipline he feels from God as "piercing arrows," and "Your hand presses me down." In Psalm 38, David describes in detail the mental anguish, along with some very real physical symptoms, he feels. He is certain that his ailments are caused by his sin. In God's loving chastising, David found himself at the feet of his Creator asking for mercy and confessing his sin before Him. He finishes the Psalm with the honest and heartfelt cries of "Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!" David's pain caused him to look up. And, that's exactly what all pain should do for anyone that belongs to God as his child. That's exactly what it did to me, eventually. You see, I realized that I had unconfessed sin in my life. And I knew these things were sinful. They were actions and attitudes that were flat out sinful and displeasing to God, but I had become so calloused that I convinced myself I could just rely on God's "grace" and still live unchanged. But I was wrong. I have discovered that even in the times that I agreed that my sin was sinful, I never confessed it to God. I may have even stopped the sin and thought I had left it behind. But I had still never confessed it to God. He knows our sins. He knows everything. But, when we confess our sin to God, we are simply agreeing with Him that it is sin, and we hate it. It restores a right relationship with God when we confess our sins. Our prayers are more effective. We can hear him more clearly. We have more joy and peace. We can lay down at night and go to sleep. And, we can feel better in general. That was my case. I was sick, alright. I was sin sick. Sin causes destruction and havoc in our lives, even as believers. In His love, God will discipline His children to bring them back to repentance. He can, and will sometimes, use illness, whether mental or even physical, to bring us to Him. I'm not saying that all illness is a result of a specific sin we have committed. We experience sickness and illness because of the brokenness in this world caused by sin, however. Even though, I am certain that all illness can be used by God to bring Him glory. Maybe this is you today. Maybe, Christian, you feel the exhaustion and misery. Ask God to show you what is grieving Him in your heart. Go to him today, and confess your sins, no matter how large or small you may think they are. We are commanded to do so, for His name's sake, and for our good. I felt the weight lifted off of me instantly. Now, I still get tired and worn out. Don't get me wrong. But, now it's from working and serving, instead of worrying and hiding. I have made it a practice to daily confess my failings to Jesus. And, trust me, they are daily, and I'm not ok with that. I have a desire to have fellowship with God more than I desire to live the way I want to live for myself. The more I confess, the more aware of the temptations that come my way. So, check your heart, brother and sister. It could be a recent sin you struggled with, or sins from years past you committed as a Christian that you never brought before the Lord. Either way, He's waiting for you today. Lay that sin down that weighs you so heavily.

-Brandon Walker