Confirmation

One day I was recovering from doing something I knew to be wrong. I confessed to God but was caught somewhere between my sin and forgiveness. I could sense the Holy Spirit was grieved by my disobedience and I was saddened by the seeming separation. Instead of wallowing over my sinfulness, which is so easy to do, I stepped into repentance. What this means is that I turned my mind from my old way of thinking in the flesh, about my sin, to think about that which pleases God. I focused all my energy on being led by the Spirit.

I pulled into a shopping center when an old man on the side of the road caught my attention. He was asking for help. I knew God was prompting me to give, so I prepared my offering as I was leaving the store. I positioned my minivan in front of the man and could sense there was something very different about this situation. He gradually rose from the camping chair where he was seated and steadily walked toward my van. Cars began to reroute as this encounter was already taking extra time.

When he reached my van he was rambling about needing a watch. We exchanged a few words and he asked if he could take my hand. I was surprised by how clean his hand felt. He kissed it and looked me straight in the eye. He delivered the most beautiful word of God that healed my heart in an instant. He said that if I asked God, He would clean my whole body. My eyes were drawn toward the silver cross hanging around his neck. I sincerely thanked him.

As I drove away, God’s love enveloped me. I was grateful for His confirmation and encouraged to believe the truth about my sin and forgiveness. By the blood of Christ, I am clean. I’m honestly not sure if the old man was homeless or an angel. Either way, God used him to deeply touch and heal my heart.

Sometimes we just need to hear we are "good." No amount of likes on social media, bonuses at work, or good deeds can give us the confirmation we truly need. We need to hear with our own ears that we are saved, forgiven, and God is pleased with us despite our sin. Today, when we walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit, this is the confirmation God so lovingly desires to give us personally. When we tune our ears to hear His voice above the rest, we will hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." We will know without a shadow of a doubt we are good because of Christ's deed in us.