Wasting Silence
Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 13, Esther, 1-2, Acts 26, Psalm 32
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away… Psalm 32:3
Psalm 32 speaks of two kinds of covering. The first, found in verse 1, is the blessed kind:
“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
This is the covering God provides through the atonement of Jesus Christ. When God covers our sin, He doesn’t just overlook it—He deals with it fully. The person whose sin is covered by God’s mercy is truly blessed.
But there’s another kind of covering. Verse 3 points to it:
“When I kept silent…”
David isn’t describing forgiveness there—he’s describing a cover-up. He hid his sin, kept his mouth shut about it, and pretended everything was fine. That kind of covering isn’t blessed. It’s destructive.
It’s also foolish. As far back as the Garden of Eden, humans have tried to hide from God. Adam used fig leaves and a bush; David used silence. We may try to use busyness, excuses, or even ministry. But the result is the same: it doesn’t work.
And worse, it eats at us. David says his silence caused his bones to waste away. Unconfessed sin is like a disease—it festers in the soul and seeps into the body.
Yes, confession is good for the soul. But it’s also good for the body.
Don’t keep silent. Don’t pretend. Bring your sin into the light. Confess it to God. And experience the deep, healing relief of His forgiveness.
