Psalm 32: 5 says: “(5) I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.”
The confessions of sin brings relief because God forgavest the iniquity of sin. Guilt is not a subjective feeling but liability for punishment in a legal sense. Mere removal of the feelings over sin is clearly not intended, since God brings the conviction. What is needed is forgiveness.
Most nations have in their legal systems periods of prescription – more commonly referred to as “statutes of limitations.” Such statutes specify the time within which charges must be brought against someone accused of committing a civil or criminal crime, the purpose being to ensure a speedy resolution of the charges for the sake of the accused.
Thankfully for us, there is no statute of limitation for when sin must be confessed in order to receive God’s forgiveness. Let’s say you sin and fail to confess it to God, then ten years later you come under conviction about that sin. Is it too late to confess it? Has God’s grace period run out? Certainly not! No such limitation exists. King David waited almost a year before confessing his adultery and complicity in murder to God – and he only confessed them because he had been found out. But God still forgave him.
Don’t wait to confess your sins to God. He is ready and willing to forgive all who come to Him.