God instructs us to confess our sins to Him and our Christian community. You need to find people you can be real with, that you trust, and that genuinely care for your well-being. But first and foremost, confess your sins to the Lord. Only by confessing can you experience forgiveness and the joy found in it.
Psalm 32:3 (esv) says, “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long”. Whenever I was living in active sin, afraid to approach God and confess my actions as wrong, that was exactly how it felt—like my bones were wasting away and groaning. I could feel the disturbance in my soul, a lack of peace, and anxiety so great the butterflies in my stomach felt like bats. Friend, you do not need to fear coming before God and acknowledging your bad choices. He loves you, He wants to forgive you, and He will give you healing as you pursue a life of freedom with Him. If you no longer want to feel like your heart and soul are dwindling and defeated, your groaning needs to shift to owning your disobedience. You need to acknowledge it as a sin against God. Only when we admit our shortcomings can we move on toward forgiveness, freedom, sanctification, and maturity in our faith.
Scripture also encourages us to acknowledge our sins to others so we can be healed. Jesus’ brother James wrote, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). When we confess our sins to community, friends, mentors, and leaders who are also Christians, we not only get to experience healing, but we also have the opportunity to be ministered to, prayed for, loved, encouraged, seen, and surrounded when we need help and support.
You and I were never meant to do life alone. We need authentic community who will show up when we are weak, who speak life and identity over us when our sin seems impossible to conquer. When I confessed my sin of porn to a friend, it brought me freedom as she prayed and ministered over me. Confession to others is not meant to shame you. I know we might believe that lie, or perhaps we have been shamed in the past by an unhealthy community we once trusted, but my hope for you is that God highlights at least one person who can walk alongside you as you bring sin from the dark into the light.
Confessing our sins and surrounding ourselves with prayer brings healing, power, and freedom to our lives. I am proof of that! And you know what? I continued to reach out to my community to pray for me and surround me with truth, accountability, and encouragement as I started to walk in freedom with more boldness and transparency. The more I brought my sin into the light and allowed trusted people to know my struggles, the more empowered I felt to walk out repentance and release what was destroying me. The Enemy wants to isolate and shame you in your sin. He does not want you to win. He knows that when you open your mouth, admit where you’ve been struggling, and commit to change, God will begin the good work of releasing you from the previous desires and ways you lived.
Confession leads to change, healing, and stronger community. It leads to deeper trust and reliance on God. It doesn’t blame, shame, belittle, or disqualify you. Confession is a catalyst that will empower you to be free.