“Only God can judge me.” Have you ever heard someone, a celebrity or friend, say this? Anytime I hear people say this I immediately respond in my head, “That should terrify you!” But does it really terrify us?

Let’s play a game. (Spoiler: This won’t be a fun game.)

Step 1: Try to remember your most recent sin. This is difficult because we sin all the time and don’t even know it. Let’s make it more specific. Think of a sin you commit that you try to hide from your spouse, parent, accountability partner, whomever.

Are you thinking of the last time you yelled at your child? Are you thinking about the terrible things you said to your spouse? Are you thinking about how many sweets you ate on Valentine’s Day? Are you thinking of the amount of time you spend on your phone or watching tv? Are you thinking of your Google search history or is that baby already wiped clean?

I don’t know what you struggle with, but I know what I do, and I want to bring it front and center today. Our minds will try to shy away from these sins because we’re so used to covering our tracks.

And yet God, the ultimate judge, sees every act. When I type this out and state it so simply, I am shaken to my core. God sees everything I do. Even worse than that, he hears every thought and intention. Here’s a classic verse about this very subject:

Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and whatever you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops (Luke 12:2-3).

This. Is. Terrifying. But why is it not enough to know that God sees my actions and yet I can’t seem to stop sinning?

Step 2: Imagine you had to write out that sin and post it on the church blog. Now that gets me into a cold sweat of dread. Can you picture if you had to write out your hidden sin each time it happened and share it on this blog? What if you had to stand up Sunday morning where Ben preaches and tell your brothers and sisters what you did the night before? It may just be me, but even entertaining this scenario makes me want to change, and I mean really change.

The lengths we go to in order to hide our struggles from one another is frightening and legitimately against what the Bible teaches. God sees all these sins and we keep going, and honestly, we always will in our current state of fallenness. So, what should we do?

Step 3: Tell someone. “Gross, no! Never! No one would understand! Everyone would shun me!” These are just a few of the polite thoughts that are immediately shouted out by my brain. That’s exactly why we must confide in each other though! And if someone shuns you, which I have witnessed happen to my own family, that speaks to their own sin and weakness, not yours.

James 5:16 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” From this passage it’s made pretty clear that I can’t even begin to be released from my sin until I tell it to someone. That just really isn’t what I want to do, but I want that true healing even more that only can come from a clean conscience and an honest heart.

Don’t feel like confiding to your church just yet? I’ve witnessed Celebrate Recovery work miracles for people who think they can’t tell their sins to anybody. Find a time and location to start your own path to healing.