Lainie and I were having dinner with friends. We were living in Pasadena at the time. I was in seminary. We met periodically with these two friends of ours... Following dinner we usually did some informal catching up, shared some scriptures and life stuff, and prayed for each other.
On this night, as we were transitioning from the meal to the catching up and prayer for each other, I went in the bathroom to brush my teeth. As I was looking in the mirror this thought passed through my mind: "Confess your struggle with sexual sin to Lainie and Lance and Linda."
Lainie - my wife. Lance and Linda - two of our closest friends. "Do you mean that fantasy-based sexual sin stuff?"
"Yep. Confess it to them and ask them to pray for you." (I didn't fully get it back then, but this was the making of a James 5:16 moment - Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.)
My heart started racing. Hands shaking. Palms sweating.
Eight years later, after the encounter with mom by the kitchen table (the integrity check I failed), God was giving me another opportunity to come clean. Be healed. Break the addictive cycle.
God at work in my life, seeking to set me free, heal my heart, and deepen my character.
This time I made the right choice. Not sure how I did it (God at work, no doubt), but I made my confession, and they prayed... and God set me free that night from the fantasy-based sexual sin.
Could God have freed me at any other time during my 8 year struggle? I'm sure God could have. I'm not sure why it didn't work that way. But that night God did. And I believe God has a time and place for your healing and freedom as well.
Could it be that God is giving you a second chance to come clean? Not in a muster-up-the-strength sort of way, but in an "it's my time for you" sort of way?
