if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear. Job 11:15 NIV

Without Fault, Stand Firm

Sometimes when I am reading the book of Job, I identify more with his friends thinking about God, sin, what I think we deserve for being bad, and the benefits of being good. Was everything they said to Job wrong? With Job’s pride, were his answers the right ones? Why is asking Job to show humility and repent of wrongdoing such bad advice? The point is, make sure Job’s friends answers are consistent with the revealed character of God and the grace found in Jesus instead of trying to be righteous by the Law of God.

With these questions in the back of my mind, we come to today’s verse spoken by Job’s friend Zophar the Naamathite. He states that a benefit of a clear conscience and dealing ruthlessly with sin yields  strong conviction and boldness instead of fear.

As a follower of Jesus, I understand that there is none righteous, no not one of us. We are incapable of removing the guilt of our sins. Only Jesus can remove our guilt and shame. To put away sin in your hand or remove evil from your dwelling will not make you clean before the Lord. No matter how passionate and devoted you may be to that endeavor, you will fall short. Grace through Jesus’ forgiveness is needed for total cleansing. Our standing firm has to be rooted first in the cleansing Jesus secured for us with His sacrificial death in our place on the cross.

There is however a nugget of truth within this verse. Fear gains strength when sin remains hidden. When sin is brought into the open for confession and removal, it loses its grip upon our lives. The person who is telling the truth need not fear, for they have nothing to hide. They don’t have to worry about changing facts to keep the story straight. They don’t have to worry that someone will find out the truth about a lie. They can be confident in the first story which was told.

Let me say this again. Fear in your life has authority to remain as long as your sin remains hidden and unconfessed. Satan will use the hidden sin as a legal argument to harass you. Confession and cleansing sweeps fear of judgment away.

On this Fear Not Friday come clean and stand strong in the grace and forgiveness which Jesus offers. Most will be willing to forgive a wrong when a person humbly admits and owns up to their failures without casting any blame to someone else. Having confessed and siding in truth, you can stand firm in your convictions and without fear.

Blessings Love y’all