Many people carry a sense of guilt over things that happen in their lives; things that deeply affect their thinking, actions, self image, and the decisions they make in life.
Long term guilt is like a having a bone that was broken, and didn‘t heal properly; you can go on, you can get by, you can hobble and limp, but you can‘t run, and you certainly can‘t fly.
What is it just now that comes to your mind? What is that familiar old guilt that rears its ugly head and puts a lump in your heart even after all this time?
Did you know that your God never intended for you to live under such a burden? Did you know that He would have you free from it? Did you know that He created you not to hobble, but to run and to soar?
Here are three powerful steps to get you loosed from your burden:
STEP ONE: Realize that there is a difference between GUILT, and SHAME.
Guilt is the knowledge and emotion that comes from committing sin against God. The conviction of sin and the resulting feelings of guilt are the job and business of God the Holy Spirit.
And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; John 16:8 NASB
And He is very good at it.
As a Believer in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, you know firsthand how plainly and blatantly the Holy Spirit causes you to know perfectly well whenever you do, say, or think something that is against the will of God.
And like any good parent, our Heavenly Father makes certain that His children understand exactly what we did wrong when He chastises us.
Put more bluntly, God never punishes us without telling us why.
This then, is the nature and purpose of Guilt in simple terms: we do wrong, God points it out to us, and we feel bad about it.
SHAME, on the other hand, is not limited to only those bad things which we ourselves do that are against the will of God.
Shame also includes those bad things that happen to us that are NOT OUR FAULT. This is important. Not every bad thing in your life is your own fault. There is such a thing as being victimized. There are injustices in the world. The innocent do suffer. And it happens to people just like you and me.
The problem is that Shame feels a lot like Guilt.
A person who has suffered abuse at the hands of another can categorize their feelings of shame over what happened as Guilt. They assume that since they feel badly about what happened, it must be their fault, they must be guilty, and they must deserve punishment is some form or another.
Dear friend, search out those feelings that you struggle with. Are they feelings of Guilt? If so, God will let you know exactly what you did wrong.
But do yourself a huge favor; let God be God.
It is God‘s job, and His alone to convict of sin. There are many “Holy Spirit, Jr.‘s” in this world that would stack guilt upon us. Oftentimes, we are our own worst critic. But if Holy God doesn‘t tell us that we have sinned against Him, then why should we listen to any other Voice (including our own) that tells us we are guilty?
It is perfectly normal to feel shame over bad events in your life that happened through no fault of your own. The event was bad, and that is a fact. But you must separate between a bad event, and your own bad actions. You must separate in your mind and heart between your Guilt and your Shame.
Once you do that, you and God can deal with each one separately, and He can set you free from both.
STEP TWO: Deal with the Guilt. If God convicts you of something you have done, said, or thought that is against His will, then confess it as sin, ask His forgiveness, and let Him cleanse you of your sin and guilt.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
You know that Jesus Christ died on the Cross and paid the penalty for those very sins you feel guilty over. His Blood can overpower any sin, and you will be forgiven, restored to fellowship with your God, and your guiltiness before God is removed as though you had never done anything wrong.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
STEP THREE: Deal with the Shame. Once you are forgiven, called “not guilty” by Holy God, then what you have left is Shame, feelings of regret, humiliation, and embarrassment.
For these you cannot find forgiveness, because they are not your fault, your feelings of guilt are without grounds. There is nothing to forgive.
Did you know that Jesus Christ died not only for your sins and guilt, but also for your shame? Listen to the heart of Christ, prophesied in the book of Psalms:
Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. Psalm 69:19-20
Did Jesus take your sins and guilt as His own on the cross? Yes.
Did bad things also happen to Him there that were not His fault? Yes.
Can you ask Him to take away your shame as He takes away your guilt? Yes.
Do with your shame as you do with your guilt; give it all to Jesus, asking for His grace and mercy.
That‘s what the cross is for.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5
JT
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