Name It
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”1 John 1:9 (KJV)
Listen for one small word in your head: just. Just one more scroll. Just one more episode. Just this once. The word lets us feel vaguely bad without ever naming what we are doing. And what we don’t name, we don’t confess.
David knew what hiding felt like. Psalm 32 describes his body wasting away while he kept quiet. Then he stopped hiding: “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.”
The promise to us is just as clear. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Confession isn’t a vague sense of guilt. It is saying plainly what we did, to the one who already knows and is ready to forgive.
Today, when you catch yourself saying “just,” stop and name the habit out loud. Then bring it to God by name.
Read it yourself
Read Psalm 32:1–7. What does David say happened to him while he kept silence?
What habit have you been calling “just” instead of naming it?
Lord, I won’t hide it. I name my sin before you, and I thank you that you are faithful to forgive and cleanse. Amen.