Last week, someone who I habitually send my blogs to, notified me of the fact that they never actually read my blogs. The reason they were confessing is that they read the following blog (Settle Matters Quickly) and it really touched them. In their words, they said that the blog “hit them”. I am very glad that the words which God gave me touched the person deeply, especially since it was one  they read for the first time. I guess the old adage rings true, “Better late than never”. The person also said that they will never forgo reading any of my blogs again. This is a strong endorsement, for which I am appreciative.

However, I really want to centre this blog around a particular choice of words the individual used in their message when they said, “Dane, I must confess…”. These three words, “I must confess” gripped me and I just had to hone in on it, thus the penning of this blog.

God’s word instructs us to do the following in James 5:16:

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”

There are many accounts in the Bible where prayer was offered for others and miraculous healing took place. Clearly, what would a Christian be without prayer? Likewise, we are also encouraged to be constant in prayer without ceasing (2 Timothy 1:3, 1 Thessalonians 5:17) for the benefit of ourselves and others. But what about the first part of the scripture which states to “confess your faults one to another”, along with praying,  in order for us to be healed? How often do we apply this approach? Isn’t it in the Bible? Aren’t we supposed to apply all of God’s word? Then why don’t more of us confess to each other? I am not talking about opening yourself to a  pastor or priest here, but to each other. I am speaking about sharing yourself with the rest of the body

I distinctly remember in my early days of becoming a Christian I was struggling with my walk with God. Then one night, a friend and I were travelling home after a church service. During this journey home, we began confessing to each other the struggles we had in our Christian lives.

Strange enough, I realized that both of us were struggling with the same issue, which led us to shared our thoughts and feelings on the matter. Up to this day, almost 26 years after, I cannot forget this encounter where transparency was the order of the day. I left that conversation feeling so revived, free and light in my spirit. It was like burdens were immediately lifted from my soul.   I cannot fully explain it, but confessing to each other helped heal me. It was not about a Pastor praying and laying hands on me, it was simply two spiritual brothers sharing their heart with each other in a liberating way. This helped break the mental and spiritual chains.

Now let me share another scenario where confession to each other opened avenues to victory. I was in a church leadership meeting with about 20 persons about 4 years ago. At the beginning of the meeting, the intent was to have about 30 minutes of worship and prayer before the formal planning session began. From commencement, one of the elders of the church had a confession to everyone. This Elder stood up and said that he was going through some challenging situations and he wasn’t thinking clearly. So much so, he said he wanted to do bodily harm to his wife. He went as far as to place a weapon under his bed in preparation for this premeditated act.

Immediately after his announcement, a silence when through the room as members starred at each other in shock and disbelief. The horror was on everyone’s face as we grappled to come to terms with what we just heard. This guy boldly and bravely stood up in front of everyone and lay his soul bare. He placed the inner thinking of his mind and soul on display for all to see. It did not matter who the onlookers were, the pastoral leadership who was spiritually grooming him or the general members who looked up to him as he was an elder. This guy took bravery and biblical application to another level by confessed his faults.

By him opening the meeting with such a bare faced confession, it started a domino effect and others in the room began confessing their challenges, and struggles. What ensued was an avalanche of persons opening their life to the reality of the Christian walk and issues that each of us were going through. God took the meeting in a whole new direction as persons were not only confessing but also crying and being overwhelmed with emotion. The meeting ended with all of us holding hands and offering up fervent prayer for each other with all hearts in one accord.

I have so much respect for this elder who started the ball a rolling by holding true to what the Bible instructs us about confessing our faults one to another, to obtain healing. That day, breakthroughs took place in the lives of many. In that regard, all I have to say is, “God’s Word Works”.

Writing this blog also took me back to when I now got baptized and I was in the congregation listening to my pastors every Sunday. I used to think that they were superhuman. I was having “up today and down tomorrow battles, and there they were on the pulpit on a Sunday morning being spiritually immune to the attacks of the Devil. Little did I know that they themselves had immense struggles, but they just never shared it.

That was quite weakening to me, as I felt I was going though things alone, hoping one day to be like these spiritual leaders and be strongly grounded. I have come to realize that everyone has their battles. I guess in some way we as humans need to know that we are all in this together, kind of like comrades in arms, empathizing with each other.

Even to this day, I still think that if the Pastors showed the reality of things more and opened themselves, it would be better for themselves and the flock. This is the reason I never hide where I am in God. I confess things as they are, because in doing so, I can open a door for someone to pray for me or give me much needed advice to help me overcome.  I say again “God’s Word Works”.

I am not saying to go and expose your business to everyone that you meet. I do think you still need to be selective in who you tell and what you tell. But I can guarantee that by you confiding in someone you will eliminate burdens from your life. Then do not just talk about the issues, but both parties directing the issues to God in prayer will help, and will heal.

So many persons keep things on the inside and bottled up. It is like a pressure cooker getting heat from the flames of life, which after a while reaches its pressure point to catastrophic consequences.  This is why every year you see persons doing themselves deadly self-harm or harming others when the pressure of life becomes overbearing.

Today my friend, I say to you, “STOP CARRYING THESE BURDENS ALONE” and look for the avenue of friendship as an outlet to ease your burdens. Someone needs to talk about something that happened in their childhood which affects them to this day. A spouse needs to confess with their partner about what is affecting them in the relationship or affecting them personally. Perhaps, two friends who are at loggerheads need to come clean and air their grievance. These are just examples, but if you are reading this blog and reached this far, then there might be a chance that you might need to share something (confess) with someone (the good, the bad or the ugly).

PS: Dane Miller was last seen on vacation confessing, “why am I blogging, when I should be resting/relaxing”.

Your Brother in the Lord,

Dane Miller – “God is the Author, I am the Pen”

Authored Book – What is the Woman Saying – Lessons from Biblical Women.

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