Wednesday March 22, 2017

 

Everyone wants to be happy and the good news is that everyone can be happy. Happiness is a choice that does not depend on what is happening around you as much as it depends on what is happening inside of you. Therefore, if you are going to choose to be happy, at some point you are going to have to deal with your guilt. Everyone carries guilt. The problem is that guilt and happiness are mutually exclusive; they cannot live together in the same heart. Dealing with guilt is simple but definitely not easy.

 

In my past blogs, I mentioned that the first step in dealing with guilt is to take a personal moral inventory. This step requires that we ask ourselves, what do I feel guilty about? It is never a good idea to excuse, hide, suppress, or blame others for our feelings of guilt. The second step required that we take responsibility for our faults. We need to own up to our hurts, hang-ups, and bad habits. The third step was to ask God for forgiveness. Today, we will take a look at step number four, which more than likely is the most difficult step in the process of getting rid of guilt.

 

Step Four – Confess your faults to someone else.

 

For the vast majority of people the thought of telling someone their deepest and darkest secret is simply something they are not willing to do. Because of this, many people remain stuck and cannot get healed from the consequences of their faults, which is the guilt that resides inside of them. This is similar to the person who has heart disease but is so afraid of surgery that they would rather live with the illness and risk dying of a heart attack. If you are going to be healed from guilt you are going to have to confess your faults to someone else.

 

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. – James 5:16 NLT

 

Guilt is nothing more than a symptom of an internal illness, an illness that prevents you from being fully and consistently happy. When you confess your sins to God the result is forgiveness but when you confess your sin to another person, the result is healing from the ill effects of sin. God can forgive you but the ill effects of sin remain inside of you. God has chosen to heal us as we confess our sins to each other. This step is necessary; without it you will never be completely healed from guilt. It is also a dangerous step if you do not take it carefully and wisely. Let me offer you a few things that you can do to help you to wisely choose a person to confess your faults to.

 

1. NEVER confess to a person of the opposite sex.
2. NEVER confess to a person who is a gossiper or cannot keep a secret.
3. Choose a mature person who you can trust.
4. Choose a person who is neutral in your life, someone who has nothing to gain or lose with your confession.
5. Choose someone who knows the Lord well enough to reflect God’s forgiveness to you.