“I don’t dissociate from my history, I am an expression of it! God doesn’t deny our brokenness or our participation in darkness. God takes our history, redeems it, and weaves it into the sound that we now become; so, our past is present with us in the moment. Our past is too precious and powerful to try and lock into a memory”. – Paul Young
I was at a worship conference in Dallas, TX, a few years ago. One particular breakout portion of the conference was when all the men went to a separate area, and the women did the same. This session of the conference was focused on “purity”. There were approximately 90 men in the room, seated in chairs in a circle formation.
As the session leader, a men’s counselor/therapist, began to speak about physical/emotional struggles and temptations, the tension in the room began to escalate. Moments felt like hours, as the counselor began to dissect the roots, causes, and outcomes of sexual sin, secrets, and addictions.
All of the sudden, during a moment of silence and reflection, one particular man, who was an attendee of the conference, fell out of his chair, onto the floor, and began to weep uncontrollably! All of us watched, and recoiled in our chairs, as we witnessed this broken man, inconsolable.
After a few moments, he rose to his knees, and between each sob, he began to confess and share with the entire room, all of his deep personal struggles. He spilled his soul before every man, confessing his most private secrets and failures both past and current.
As he began to list all of his shame-ridden offenses and shortcomings, the temperature of the room began to change. The more this man confessed, the brighter his face became; the more life he appeared to have. By the end of his weeping confession, even through the tears, his entire countenance had completely changed.
In this moment, MY life had changed. It was like a lightning bolt of freedom had shot into the room, igniting a flame of revival in every single one of us sitting in those chairs. We all realized that we’re not alone! This man was saying what we all wanted to, but didn’t have the courage.
One of Satan’s most clever tactics is to isolate us, and make us feel alone – to make us wallow in self-condemnation, shame, and guilt. Something happens in the spiritual atmosphere around us, when we become vulnerable. When we are free to open up about our weaknesses and failures, and we’re free to confess our sins to one another, and pray for one another, revival happens!
In those moments, we all become free. We realize that we are all just people, just human, in need of grace. Witnessing the power of confession and vulnerability has made me want to live a lifestyle of openness, as vulnerability creates more trust, not less.
“And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by the power of their testimony”. Revelation 12:11