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Dealing With Guilt

Guilt can be a difficult emotion to deal with, and it can be especially challenging when it arises from a religious perspective. However, it’s important to remember that God is a loving and merciful God who is willing to forgive us when we ask for it.

Here are a few things you can try to help cope with feelings of guilt:

  1. Acknowledge and confess your guilt: This means admitting to yourself and to God that you have done something wrong and asking for forgiveness.
  2. Seek support from others: It can be helpful to talk about your feelings of guilt with a trusted friend, family member, or pastor. They can provide a listening ear, offer words of comfort and encouragement, and pray with you.
  3. Make amends: If you have caused harm to someone else, try to make things right by apologizing and taking steps to repair the damage.
  4. Practice self-forgiveness: It’s important to remember that we are all human and we all make mistakes. It’s okay to make mistakes and it’s important to extend grace and forgiveness to ourselves as well as others.
  5. Trust in God’s forgiveness: Finally, remember that God’s love and forgiveness are always available to us when we ask for it. Turn to Him in prayer and trust that He will forgive you and help you to overcome feelings of guilt.

It’s also important to remember that seeking professional help from a mental health provider can be beneficial if you are struggling to cope with feelings of guilt.

God Loves you and can provide answers through His Truths

When we trust Christ as our personal Savior, the guilt of personal sin before God is forever removed! As Paul affirms, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1). The Bible uses images such as “Our sins have been buried in the depths of the sea’ (Micah 7:19), “…remembered no more,” (Jeremiah 31:34), and our transgressions have been removed “…as far as the east is from the west.’ (Psalm 103:12)

To gain an understanding of the significance of this phrase, picture a globe of the Earth. From the North Pole to the South Pole is a distance of 12,430 miles. Yet the Psalmist didn’t say God removed our transgressions that distance. As far as the east is from the west is actually an infinite distance! You could continue going one direction or the other indefinitely. The imagery perfectly illustrates how we have had every sin removed permanently and with no lingering guilt or condemnation, since “…the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7b).

In spite of this great truth, many Christians are plagued by feelings of guilt. Over the years I’ve talked with believers who, in spite of all that Scripture affirms of how our guilt has been removed, cannot seem to get past those persistent struggles with guilt.

True and false guilt: Facts and feelings

One dictionary definition explains guilt as “…the fact of having committed a breach of conduct, especially violating the law and involving a penalty …a feeling of culpability or blame.” True guilt is based on a fact: we have violated a clear statement or command from God’s Word. But often, and for many of us, feelings of guilt persist even when we have not violated Scripture or after we have confessed our sin to God. This is what is called false guilt.

It is always best to examine our heart whenever we feel guilty. If we have violated Scripture in thought, word or deed, our appropriate response is to confess our sin. This is not simply saying “God, I’m sorry.” To confess is to say the same thing about our sin that God says. King David’s soulful confession of his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah in Psalm 51 illustrates for us how appropriate confession should work.

But when we have confessed our sin, sometimes guilt feelings linger. These can be rooted in a false understanding of the Bible, or perhaps man-made standards not upheld by God’s Word. One illustration is feelings of guilt shared by a number of people for stepping on the crack in a sidewalk! This is actually a good example of false guilt based on a foolish superstition—the old saying from elementary school days, “Step on a crack; break your mother’s back.” Maybe in the past when you stepped on a crack on a sidewalk you felt a twinge of guilt. Or perhaps you went out of your way to avoid stepping on a sidewalk crack! These are mild examples of false guilt, feelings not rooted in any violation of a Scriptural standard.

Wayne was raised in a strict home where everyone was taught that reading the Sunday newspaper before Sunday morning church was wrong. Since this was a parental edict not supported in Scripture, Wayne eventually became aware that he was free to read any portion of the Sunday paper prior to leaving for worship. Of course today he gets his news, as many do, online.

What about when we actually, factually, do sin? We certainly should experience feelings of guilt, but this time they are rooted in truth. The Holy Spirit uses such occasions to make us aware of how we have grieved Him and violated Scripture. In the process, He may make us miserable until we confess our sins and turn from them. (See Psalm 32:3,4 and Proverbs 28:13) Each of us is personally responsible, as Proverbs 28:13 explains and 1 John 1:9 affirms, to confess our sins and turn from them to the Lord. When we do, He promises to immediately forgive us, and even to cleanse us from all unrighteousness!

But what if our feelings of guilt remain after we’ve confessed our sins? Often the issue is that we have not forgiven ourselves! It may seem strange, but sometimes we are harder on ourselves than God is! When we do this, we are forgetting that, on the cross, Jesus paid for every sin we will ever commit. This is the basis for God’s offer of forgiveness and cleansing. To refuse to accept His Word about this is to attempt to punish ourselves for sins that Christ has already paid for!

Often Satan, the enemy of our souls and accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:9,10) uses false guilt to make us miserable. He puts us down and makes us expect that God will somehow cast us away because we have failed Him. He feeds us thoughts that leave us feeling unworthy of being restored to fellowship with God. It is important to remind ourselves that “There is …now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) Thus feelings of guilt apart from the fact of sin have no valid reason for existence!

Remember the woman Jesus met at a Samaritan well? (John 4) She was in fact, guilty of living with a man who was not her husband, a sinful behavior which Jesus lovingly pointed out to her. She experienced feelings of guilt, as we see her coming to the well at a time when the other women of the village would not be there. When Jesus explained to her who He was and the forgiveness and salvation He offered, she trusted Him and was cleansed of her guilt. She was then able to leave her feelings of guilt and the resultant isolation she sought and return to the village to invite the women—and the men—to come meet her Savior!

#LIVEDONTDIE

You have options, please call or text 988

Or the HOPE LINE 1-800-488-4673

Call us 1-800-488-HOPE

Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-1:30 a.m. CST; Closed weekends.
Línea en español 1-855-867-0824.

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