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Jan 11, 2025 06:00am

Exposing the Darkness

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When things sit in the darkness, they fester and grow.

Have you ever found that one food item you forgot about in your pantry and let sit there for months, only to pull it out and discover it had gone rotten? Or how about sticking your hand down the couch cushion to look for something you dropped, only to discover that long-ago snack that accidentally took a deep dive and wound up covered in fuzz? My favorite is the dirty dish you intended to wash by hand, but somehow, in the busyness of life, it ended up pushed to the back of the counter and now has rancid, reeking remnants of last week’s roast inside.

The same is true of our sin. When left undealt with, it begins to fester and stink up our lives. Leaving it untouched in a dark corner does not make it go away. It only makes it worse. It can even begin to affect us physically.

That’s what David says about his sin in Psalm 32:

“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer” (Psalms 32:3–4).

He repeats a similar song in Psalm 38:

There is no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.
For my iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness,
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all the day I go about mourning.
For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
I am feeble and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
O Lord, all my longing is before you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me. (Psalms 38:3–10)

David’s inward, unconfessed sin was starting to evidence itself through outward, physical symptoms. His eyes grew dull, his heart ached, he was restless, his stomach felt sick, he was wasting away through his groaning. David says the wounds caused by his sin began to stink and fester. It was consuming his entire body and every moment of his day. Sin won’t stay under the surface; it begins to ooze and bubble out the top. It can’t be contained in a nice, neat compartment of our hearts.

On the contrary, after David was confronted by Nathan the prophet, he confessed his sin, and his physical ailments began to turn a corner. He brought his sins to the light, and a weight was lifted from him:

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice. (Psalms 51:1–2, 7–8)

The bones that once felt sick, weak, and broken were now restored and rejoicing! Light and health were returning to his eyes—he didn’t feel like lying in bed all day from the weight of his sin. As his sin was exposed by the light, he began to experience the freedom and joy that comes with God’s mercy and forgiveness:

Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit. (Psalms 51:9–12)

Jesus is the light of the world who came to expose the darkness in it and in our hearts. We may think we will feel better by remaining in the dark about our sin—no one likes to admit the nastiness they’ve allowed to grow in those deep, hidden places. It’s embarrassing, shameful, and even humiliating. But ultimately, leaving it unchecked will be rottenness, not only to our physical health, but also our spiritual wellbeing.

If you have unconfessed sin in your life, don’t let it sit and fester. Bring your sin-sick heart and life to the Great Physician who loves to restore sinners back to a healthy relationship with him. Repent, and let him shine his light into your life. The quicker we are to bring our failings to God and the more honest we are with him about our sin, the faster we will experience the relief of his healing grace in our lives.