Confession just feels "wrong"

In my family, admitting anything was a sign of weakness. I am predisposed to resist admitting stuff. I have had seasons when I was particularly irritated about having to share my shame with God.

“Doesn’t he already know?” I whine.

“Isn’t God ALL KNOWING?” I asked with a large dose of sarcasm.

When I kept quiet, my bones wore out;
I was groaning all day long
- every day, every night! -
because your hand was heavy upon me.
My energy was sapped as if in a summer drought.
So I admitted my sin to you; I didn’t conceal my guilt.
“I’ll confess my sins to the Lord,” is what I said.
~ Psalm 32:3-5, CEB


Does God know everything? If so, why do I have to experience the humiliation of telling God what he already knows? A careful reading of scripture reveals times when it does seem like God does not actually know every single thing. Sometimes we humans seem to catch God off guard.

Maybe God DOES know everything. When that voice in my head whines, “Doesn’t God know everything?” I have learned to respond with “Who knows? Stop distracting yourself from doing your part to heal.”


Whether God has the capacity to know everything about us before we even know it ourselves or not - admitting, confessing, sharing our most embarrassing truths - is good for the soul.