Is Confession Necessary?

When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. ~ Psalm 32:3 (NLT)

Real men don’t show emotion – or so the saying goes. Real men don’t get hurt. They don’t get sad. They don’t let anything get to them at all. They are solid, like a rock. Nothing gets in that hurts them. This proves how tough they are.

In addition, in today’s society, women are told something similar. Girls shouldn’t be sad. They shouldn’t have hurts and pains. They should always be OK, painting on a fake smile so no one knows the truth. When asked, they simply say, “I’m fine. Really.”

So, what is the truth? It’s pretty simple. We all get sad. We all experience pain and hurt. We all have bad days. And, no matter how tough we look on the outside, we’ve all painted on that fake smile in an attempt to fool everyone around us. If I smile they won’t see the pain, or so the brain tries to trick us into believing.

Even worse, sometimes our minds actually convince us that if we never admit to it, it didn’t happen. If it is never spoken of, then it is just forgotten, as if it never existed. That thing that happened to you did. That thing you committed, really happened.

This mindset that envelops us is a lie, a big one told by the “Father of Lies,” Satan.

As our verse today states, having issues lingering inside of us that remain secret cause our bodies to waste away. In other words, keeping everything locked tight inside doesn’t solve anything. It just destroys us from the inside out.

And, when it comes to our own struggles with sin – and we all sin (See Romans 3:23) – it’s no different. If we refuse to confess, which is to actually say out loud, the sins we struggle with, they will slowly destroy us. Secret sins, as they are called, are one of the biggest things that hold us back in fully experiencing the grace and love of God. So, what do we do? Talk about it. Find a trusted friend, pastor, parent, teacher, and talk stuff through. Speak openly with God, and those trusted people He puts in your life, about your struggles. Admit you have them. Ask God for forgiveness. Let God’s grace wash over you. Doing so will allow the healing process to begin.