When we think about worshiping God, we probably think happy thoughts. We might envision ourselves in a sanctuary, hands lifted high as we sing powerful choruses. We might even think back to miraculous moments where God came through for us, and we couldn’t help but burst forth in praise.
These are good and important moments of worship, but we need to remember that worship can take place in the good and the bad, the highs and the lows. The moments described above could be classified as adoration and thanksgiving, worshiping God with a grateful heart because of how good He has been to us. And He has been very good to us.
But the Bible gives us snapshots of people who worshiped God in their lowest moments as well. For example, when King David’s infant son died, II Samuel 12:20 tells us, “Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house.” Similarly, when Job lost everything, he also turned to God—“Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped (1:20).”
These men worshiped God in the valley, not just on the mountain. So keeping in mind that we can worship in difficult situations, consider that the Bible portrays confession of sin as an act of worship. After the Israelites experienced their stunning victory in Jericho, one soldier named Achan got greedy. All of the spoil was to be dedicated to God as a first fruits offering (there would be plenty more spoil as they took possession of the Promised Land), but Achan secretly stole a few items for himself. The Lord revealed that Achan had sinned, and it needed to be dealt with right away.
In Joshua 7:19 we read, “Then Joshua said to Achan, ‘My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.’” Did you notice that Joshua equated confession of sin with giving glory to God?
God is holy, and He therefore hates sin. To confess our sins literally means we “say the same thing” as someone else. Confession, then, means we agree with God that our sin is wrong. When we confess our sins, we are defending God’s righteous judgment. How could anyone in Israel fault God’s punishment when Achan agreed with God that He was wrong? God is vindicated by our confession.
That is not to suggest that God needs our vindication. God is inherently holy, whether we recognize it or not. But when we confess our sins it is the same effect as bragging on God’s other attributes, such as His mercy, goodness, and patience. Just as God is loving whether we tell people or not, God is holy and just whether we tell people or not. But when we confess our sins we have the opportunity to praise God in a unique way, so we should never pass up the opportunity.
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