The scriptures amply illustrate the adverse physical effects of failing to confess our sins and stubbornly refusing to turn from them.
Consider Psalms 32:3-4: “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever-heat of summer.”
Also consider Psalms 38:3-7: “There is no soundness in my flesh because of Thine indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities are gone over my head; as a heavy burden they weigh too much for me. My wounds grow foul and fester. Because of my folly, I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go mourning all day long. For my loins are filled with burning; and there is no soundness in my flesh.”
The antidote to physical suffering caused by unconfessed sin is simply to confess the sin and turn from it, for, “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
God’s forgiveness releases us from feelings of guilt and thereby prompts physical health. In fact, David specifically observed this in Psalms 32:5: “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD." And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”
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