Guilt

[snowyangel]

Can you ever drift too far?

"There's no way I can be forgiven for what I did."

"I feel terrible about not being able to help out."

"I'll never be free from this guilt, or from this behavior."

"I don't want to do this, but I'd feel awful if I said no."

"How can I even look him (or her) in the eye? I know what I've done!"

There is no emotion so slippery, so controlling, so unshakeable as guilt. Guilt is an accuser. It tells us that we've fallen short of expectations, that we've failed our loved ones and family, that it's selfish to say "no" even to demands we cannot realistically handle.

Sometimes guilt is a reminder of past mistakes, regrets, failures. Sometimes it's the threat that others will be hurt or disappointed by our actions. And like so many emotions, guilt can be both a positive and a negative thing. Guilt can be good when it reminds us of a past transgression that we haven't yet come to terms with. Guilt can be bad when it pressures us into falling in line with unrealistic or even unhealthy human expectations. But guilt can be worse yet. It can convince us that we've drifted too far away from God to ever be brought back.

Are you living a life controlled by guilt? Do you carry the baggage of guilt and regret with you as you go about your day, at work, at home, at church? If so, that's not what God wants for your life. God wants to permanently free you from your guilt, no matter what sort of guilt is holding you down. He wants to see you released from its crushing control and made into a new person--a person confident that there is absolutely no sin, no failure, no disappointment great enough to put you out of His reach.

Follow the links at left to read passages from the Bible that show us how God can free us from guilt, or view some of these online resources for more guidance in coming to grips with--and casting away--the chains of guilt.

[Takachi]

I would like to add that God is a God of love and forgiveness. He does not wish to hold sins against us and will forgive us until our last breath. In Matthew 18:21 Peter asks how many times should one be forgiven, should it be seven, but Jesus replies, “ Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” In other words there is no end to God’s forgiveness.

Guilt can be a good thing. Sometimes it is this guilt that leads us to God and gives us a greater love of Him. In Luke 7:36 Jesus is invited to eat at a Pharisee’s house, when a woman of great sin washes his feet with her tears, her tears! She even dries His feet with her own hair. This is truly a sign of great love. Jesus then tells us:

“A certain creditor had two debtors, one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?”

The correct answer is the one who owed the most. This is true with God. He has payed for you debts with His own blood, and it was not in vain. NOTHING is beyond the power of God to forgive, and you can never fall too far from His grace. As for guilt the only way to find relief is to come to terms with God. Pray that God may bless you with a calm and soothed heart.

Oh God you are so merciful and great. I come to ask forgiveness of my sins for they are many. Help me to forgive myself of my sins for they often weigh me down and blind me of salvation. Remove from my heart guilt and shame. I offer my broken heart to you o Lord. Make in me a new and pure heart, clean of past transgressions, and give me the strength to resist temptation. Lord, surround me with your love and let me put on the armor of God. Bless me Lord with ways to further my daily walk with you o Lord and give me strength in a word of sin. Amen

God bless