When David committed adultery and murder, he thought he had escaped. No one really knew what David did. Nothing in the Bible says that he told anyone what he did, and no one would have suspected that he had committed such sins. However, he should have been a different king than the other kings in the world. He was supposed to be the king who led his people to righteousness because their God is holy and righteous. God had to intervene to save his king and his people from becoming like the other sinful kingdom. As a result, God had to expose David's sin. David probably had forgotten that he might have successfully hidden his sin from people, but God saw everything. Hebrews 4:13 says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Every sin that we have committed, whether known by others or not, God knows it. We can hide our sinful motives and thoughts from others, but God knows it all.
The most self-destructive thing that we can do to ourselves is to hide sin in our hearts. When we hide sin in our hearts, the guilt and shame will never leave us. Satan will always use our hidden sins to condemn us, and it will impede our spiritual growth. Since we cannot hide our hidden sins, the only way to deal with them is to confess them to God and ask for forgiveness. There are situations in which we need to confess our sins to others whom we offended to make things right. But it is important first to confess our sins and turn away from them. The Bible says that there is nothing good in sin. It is going to eat us alive from within, and it will affect our relationship with God and others, including those we love.
When we sin, we must confess it to God immediately and turn away from it. 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." If we continue to struggle with a particular sin, we need to confess it to a mature person who can pray for us and hold us accountable. This is why we need to get plugged into a church or a community of believers where we can grow spiritually and build up trusted friends.
Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) Can I hide my sins from God? What happens when I hide sin in my heart? What should I do when I sin?
Write down all the worries you face today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, you know every sinful thought, motive, and action that I have done. You know all the lies and bad words that I said, so I confess them all to you. Please forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Thank you for immediately forgiving me the moment I confessed my sins to you with my sincere heart. I turn away from my sin and follow you. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.