Tuesday March 21, 2017

 

Chances are you have more things to feel guilty about than things to feel proud of. Perhaps you have not been the son, daughter, or spouse you ought to. Maybe the case is that you let a friend or family member down. Perhaps you have an addiction to alcohol, drugs, or pornography or maybe you have done something you know is wrong or even illegal. Maybe you feel as though you should be doing more good things. It may be that you are not spending enough time with your loved ones or you are spending too much time with the wrong people. Maybe it is the things that you hide or the lies that you tell that cause you to feel guilty. Guilt is a big part of our lives and it impacts us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Guilt impacts every area of our lives. It impacts what we say and do; there is no area in our lives that our guilt does not impact.

 

Guilt is a state of mind that causes you to lose your confidence and self-respect. It also causes you to feel that you do not deserve to be happy and it prevents you from moving forward. The good news is that there is a way for you to rid yourself of guilt and it’s negative impact. In yesterday’s blog I mentioned that the first thing that you need to do is to take a personal moral inventory. You should never hide, excuse or blame others for your guilt. I also said that you should accept responsibility for your faults. Healing and restoration begins when you admit that you have messed up. If you have taken these first two steps the next thing to do is to move on to step three.

 

Ask God for forgiveness.

 

If we tell Him our sins, He is faithful and we can depend on Him to forgive us of our sins. He will make our lives clean from all sin. – 1 John 1:9 NLV

 

God’s forgiveness does not depend on who you are; it is founded in who He is. God does not forgive you based on your character; instead His forgiveness is based on His character. Since God cannot lie, the size of your sin is entirely irrelevant. What is relevant is His overabundance of grace demonstrated on the cross when His son Jesus died to offer those who accept His gift, forgiveness from their sins, ALL OF THEM.

 

“no matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. – Isaiah 1:18 LB