“The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.”
Proverbs 10:28, NIV

   King Arthur in Camelot said, “One cannot be wicked and happy at the same time.” It may be that there is a feeling of discontent in your life because of unresolved guilt from your past. Mark Twain said, “Man is the only animal that blushes or needs to.” And maybe when you think about your past, you not only blush, you cringe.

   Guilt over the past takes the joy out of a lot of people. King David committed adultery and for a year he lived in denial. David said: “When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long…My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.” (Psalm 32:3-4, NLT)

   David discovered that inner peace and secret sin could not co-exist. It was when David’s heart finally broke in repentance that he poured out his heart to God asking for forgiveness. David pleaded with God saying: “Restore to me again the joy of your salvation…” (Psalm 51:12, NLT)

   The good news for us is that Jesus Christ wants to erase our past completely and produce a spirit of joy within us. That can not happen until our sin is brought out in the open before God. That revelation to God is the beginning of our healing. And the sin that we want to conceal the most is the one that we need to reveal the most. Why? Because that sin is the one that is robbing us of our peace and joy and keeping us from moving forward in our walk with Christ.

“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses
and renounces them finds mercy."
Proverbs 28:13, NIV

   Not only does he find mercy, but he also finds peace and joy. As I said before, inner peace cannot co-exist with secret sin.

QUESTION: Do you have a secret sin that is robbing you of joy? If so, confess and renounce it and experience again the joy of your salvation.