Ready:
“The one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.” – Proverbs 28:13
Set:
Have you ever tried to cover something up before? Maybe you made a mistake in a game, and hoped no one saw. Maybe you stained up your jersey and you’re trying to hide it from the coach because he or she just bought a new set for the team. In these types of situations, how do you feel? Are you peaceful or are you fearful and ashamed?
When I was in elementary school, I took my lunch to school every day. Over the year, I started to notice a really bad smell coming from my lunchbox. I usually packed my own lunch, and I didn’t realize you were supposed to wash the lunchbox every so often. So, the smell got worse, and I had the “great” idea to spray perfume in it to cover up the smell! The next day I’m sitting down at the lunch table and my food tastes like perfume. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why it tasted like that. A few weeks went by of me eating the perfume covered food and I began to hate lunch because the food made me feel so sick. The smell didn’t go away in my lunchbox either; now it just smelled like perfume and old food.
If we go back to Proverbs 28:13, all I had to do was go to my parents and say, “Mom and Dad, my lunchbox stinks. I don’t know how to fix it. I sprayed perfume in it but that made me sick. Can you please help me?” They would’ve had great mercy on me and helped me wash it clean. But what help would I receive if I kept concealing it? I’d be full of shame, fear and I’d continue to get sick off the food. The same goes for us in sports and life.
If you’re having a problem with your performance or not understanding how to fix an issue on the team, the best thing you can do is go straight to the coach. Concealing an issue doesn’t get you a solution, it usually brings about more problems. And with the sins in our lives, if we conceal them, we will not flourish. They will actually begin to eat away at us like the mold inside of my lunchbox. The solution is to confess and renounce. Like the lunchbox idea, you confess it stinks and then you accept the solution to fix the issue. It takes humility and submission, but what you receive is far better than what you hand over.
Go:
Why do we try to conceal our mistakes from our team and coach?
What sin in your life are you concealing?
Will you confess and renounce it to receive the mercy God is waiting to give you?
Workout:
Overtime:
"Dear Heavenly Father, would You reveal to me any sin in my life that I’ve concealed instead of confessed to You? Help me to turn to You and receive the forgiveness You freely give. In Jesus’ name, amen."