What are they and why are they helpful?
In the light of God’s greatness, holiness and perfection … oh boy, do we get it wrong sometimes! You know, those times where we often say things we shouldn’t say, we do things we shouldn’t do, or we often forget or omit to do or say something at the right time, which means we end up in a right old pickle! The Bible constantly reassures us that God is loving, kind and compassionate and when we confess our wrongdoing, by faith we are forgiven.
Being honest and facing up to our own failures and shortcomings is crucial to our spiritual health and balanced wellbeing. Therefore, we need to have opportunities to help us not live in denial about the hurt we cause God, others and inevitably ourselves. This doesn’t have to be a long drawn-out affair, but it’s important to give people enough time to inwardly (and sometimes outwardly) engage, respond and receive.