“There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.” -Psalm 38:3–4
The Psalmist has been afflicted with a physical malady because of his unconfessed sin. It is equally wrong to think no physical affliction (sickness for example) will ever come from the disciplinary hand of God as it is to think that all sickness comes from the disciplinary hand of God. Cf. John 5:14 with John 9:3.
David recognizes that, in his case, his prolonged unconfessed sin brought about sickness in his body. In a parallelism, he states emphatically “There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.” What started out as a annoying continual dripping of guilt on his conscience has become a tidal wave in the form of physical burden under which his soul begins to drown.
Of course, the sweet Psalmist and Shepherd of Israel would not be writing this if he was not at this point repentant, for in another Psalm, he says, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.” -Psalm 119:67
The Apostle John another great shepherd of God’s children also reminds us in his letter to the saints:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” -1 John 1:9–2:2
From my own experience in ministry, it seems one of the primary sources of mental health issues is unconfessed sin. And as the shepherds of God’s people have taught us, the first step to a flourishing life is to confess our sins to the Lord—and also to anyone we have directly sinned against.