The NIV 365 Day Devotional

How Can We Gain Victory Over Secret Sins?

It would be wonderful if our relationship with Jesus eradicated the allure of the darkness so prevalent in this world, but that won’t happen in this life. And whether it comes through the internet, television, wallet, tongue or stomach, most of us are intimately familiar with the relentless persistence of secret sins.

The conquest of these persistent sins can only begin when we decide that we want to change. We are quick to say we want to be free. But we may derive “benefits” — pleasure, power, influence, ego — from these sins. Do we really want to live without these benefits? Do we really want to be healed? We will never break free until we believe life without our secret sins is better, in every way, than life with them.

The other ingredient to victory is inviting others into the struggle. The sin cycle is fueled by secrecy. We may have confessed these sins to God countless times, but we hide them from others because we are afraid to risk people’s esteem. But transparency and humility before others is an opportunity to put into action our belief that God has forgiven us. It provides accountability in our spiritual growth. And perhaps we need to care more about offending God with our perpetual disobedience and less about others’ opinions.

Sin grows in the dark. The psalmist said, “You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence” (Ps 90:8). The light destroys the darkness. The way to strike a fatal blow against secret sins is to finally decide we want to be free and then invite a trusted friend into our battle.

Taken from the NIV Starting Place Study Bible.