THE TOXIN OF LINGERING GUILT

There are two types of guilt: true and false: Convicting and condemning. True guilt convicts our heart and tells us that something is wrong. It causes us to stop and think. False guilt tells us that we are unworthy and disgraceful and its purpose is to keep us discouraged and even though we may know that God is a forgiving God, we can not seem to feel His forgiveness, nor shed the feeling of guilt. God say’s, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us”. Ps. 103:12

In dealing with guilt, we must first identify the source of the guilt. Train our conscience to respond to guilt in the way that God’s Word teaches. Use the scripture as our weapon against the devil when we feel guilty for something that has already been nailed to the cross and dealt with. Know that Satan used guilt the first time that he ever tempted man and will surely use it to try and defeat you and I. Satan makes no bones about how he treats the children of God. He tempts us, and then he taunts us when we give in to his temptations and sin. He stands back and laughs at us for being so gullible. He is a slanderer and he is referred to in Rev 12:10 as the accuser of the brethren. So he lives to make our lives as miserable as he possibly can.

Many in the Bible knew guilt; one of them being King David! One warm spring evening, he committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband killed later on to cover up his sin. He allowed Satan to tell him that if he would kill Bathsheba’s husband that it would hide his guilt and cover up his sin. But of course David found out very quickly that it did not. It only made his feelings of guilt and anxiety worse. When confronted with his sin, the torment of his shame overwhelmed him, he wrote in Psalms 38:1-4. However, while he was not showing responsibility in his wrongful actions; David’s guilt did lead him to repentance; He confessed his sin, took personal responsibility and accepted God’s discipline with dignity.

When the Holy Spirit convicts man and there is guilt, it is legitimate guilt. It is used as a tool to reconcile us to God. The guilt brought on by God’s Spirit serves us in much the same way as physical pain serves our body. Both are indicators that something is wrong. There is a problem that needs attention and healing. Satan always perverts the purpose of guilt and uses it as a toxin to posion our minds with lies and mislead us from what God wants to know and do; and to discourage and try to defeat us. Lingering guilt can keep us from the joy and freedom that God has for us and hinder the vital relationship with God that can be ours if we would but choose to live the victorious life that Jesus died for.

Not all guilt is true guilt. Some Christians feel guilty about things that they have already confessed and have been forgiven of; yet they drag behind them the bitter burden of a past sin. They know that God has forgiven them but they can not seem to forgive themselves and so they live in another type of sin called pity and yes even pride. They say while God may forgive me, I can not forgive myself. Oh friend if you are living in this type of bondage, may I tell you that this is the very reason that Jesus died on the cross…to set you free from not only the sin, but the guilt of sin. So, don’t you dare hang on to something that God says to let go of…..if He can forgive and remember them no more that is the least that you and I can do. Please learn to let go of the past so that you can face your future unencumbered.

Guilt that comes from the Holy Spirit can always be connected with a specific sin. It is intended to grab our attention and focus our minds on the sin so that we can take responsibility for it. The guilt that comes from Satan may be connected to sin, but it lingers on even after the sin has been confessed. We can allow guilt to be self-induced by unmet expectations that we have not been able to meet; and those feelings of guilt are produced when we violate our conscience by not accepting God’s forgiveness and allowing that forgiveness to wash us from even the stain of guilt. The blood of Christ can wash us whiter than snow; and oh how good it feels. But we must apply it God’s way in order to have His peace.

You can be free from guilt. You must first identify the source and take the responsibility to whatever type of guilt you are facing. If it is a valid guilt, from a sin caused by a wrong choice that you have made, then confess it and take any steps needed to make it right. If you have done this and you still can not connect your guilty feelings as to why they will not go away, then you may very well be under the accusatory attack of the devil. If so, pay him no mind! If your guilt is vague and unclear, then let it go. God has forgiven you, and you need to possibly forgive yourself, because lingering guilt will only hinder your walk in Christ. So…. you must let go of the past in order to move on to the future.

I love you today and am praying for your victory!
Bren