I am aware that this post and yesterday's are extracts from another source, and not my own personal thoughts. Tomorrow's post will be my answer to these posts, so please bear with me. I will say, however, that this particular extract gelled most with me - probably because it provides more of a visual, real-life demonstration of our need to get our darkest thoughts and secrets off our chests than the previous one does.
'...I'll make a clean breast of my failures to God...' Psalm 32:5 TM
Hidden among the sand dunes on Bird Island, North Carolina, is a postbox marked 'Kindred Spirits'. Inside are notebooks and pencils visitors can use to record their thoughts and prayers in anonymity. Author Zoë Elmore says, 'I'm amazed what people have written... heart wrenching confessions... their deepest and darkest secrets... prayers of desperation... People... willing to put down... things they'd never share with family or friends... and place them in a mailbox on a secluded island. These writings are an indication of everyone's need to be heard in a safe environment... to get things off our chest without interruption or condemnation. As a child of God we have a true Kindred Spirit to whom we can pour out our hearts... His name is Jesus and you just have to call on Him... He's waiting to listen to your innermost fears and private thoughts. Perhaps you have things you're longing to share; secrets you've kept far too long... I have great news... it's possible to experience freedom - without visiting Bird Island! Call on the Name of Jesus... pour out your heart with confident abandon... He's present and He's listening.' When you do that, David said, 'You get a fresh start, your slate's wiped clean... God holds nothing against you and you're holding nothing back from him. When I kept it all inside... The pressure never let up... Then I let it all out...; I said, "I'll make a clean breast of my failures to God." Suddenly the pressure was gone - my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared' (Psalm 32:1-5 TM). What a great feeling!
Taken from 'The Word for Today', by UCB.
