Senator Mark Hatfield once recounted the following historical story: 

“James Garfield was a lay preacher and principal of his denominational college. They say he was ambidextrous and could simultaneously write Greek with one hand and Latin with the other. 

“In 1880, he was elected president of the United States, but after only six months in office, he was shot in the back with a revolver. He never lost consciousness. At the hospital, the doctor probed the wound with his little finger to seek the bullet. He couldn’t find it, so he tried a silver-tipped probe. Still he couldn’t locate the bullet. 

“They took Garfield back to Washington, D.C. Despite the summer heat, they tried to keep him comfortable. He was growing very weak. Teams of doctors tried to locate the bullet, probing the wound over and over. 

“In desperation, they asked Alexander Graham Bell, who was working on a little device called the telephone, to see if he could locate the metal inside the president’s body. He came, he sought, and he too failed. 

“The president hung on through July, through August, but in September he finally died—not from the wound but from infection. The repeated probing, which the physicians thought would help the man, eventually killed him.”

The same is true with people who dwell too long on their sin and refuse to release it to God. Satan creeps into their lives and takes control. Just like an infection, their sin eventually takes over their being.

But Jesus said of his sacrifice on the cross, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

Because of His sacrifice, the infection of sin can be stopped. Release your sin to the Savior, and find complete forgiveness in Him.

PRAYER CHALLENGE: Recognize and release your sin before the Lord today in prayer.