How many times have I blown it? How many times have I done something that later I regret? Or worse yet, how many times have I known or felt that I should do something and do nothing? More times than I can count.
In seeps guilt. Regret. Shame.
Friend, I want to be very clear: God wants us to live righteously. He wants us to follow His commandments and His promptings – but God does not want us to wallow in condemnation. He doesn’t want His people sitting in a puddle of guilt and shame. God knew we would blow it. He saw our sins, and He also saw our need for a Savior. And so He sent us His Son. Not to condemn us, but to save us! He came to wipe away each and every sin that we confess to Him. Each and every sin. That means, I need not carry any guilt or shame for what Jesus has forgiven. It is done. Taken care of. Removed.
Yet sometimes, I still feel guilty. I still feel regret. I wish I could have a redo. But here’s the thing: “Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings and He knows everything.” (1 John 3:20) God is greater than my feelings. God has already seen my sin, and because I have confessed it, He has chosen to forget it. That means the guilt I feel is not from Him. This guilt is messing with my mind. Preventing me from really knowing who I am in Christ and crippling me from accessing the power and promises of my Father.
How do I know? “Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from Him whatever we ask because we obey Him and do the things that please Him.” (1 John 3:21-22) Guilt makes us doubt the love of the Father. Guilt makes me question if I am who He says I am. Guilt makes me believe that I have blown it, and God is not possibly going to see me as His child.
But guilt is wrong. It’s a liar.
I am a child of God. Christ did die to save me. I have been redeemed. I am saved by the blood of the Lamb. My Father has forgiven me of all my sins and removed them from me as far as the east is from the west.
And because of God’s goodness and grace, I can now come to God with bold confidence. I can bring to Him each and every concern. Each and every need.
You see, there is a connection between confession and guilt. Guilt has no power – no purpose – when confession takes place. I am clean.
Friend, its time we stopped living with guilt – dragging it behind us as if it serves any sort of purpose. If we have confessed our sins, the guilt needs to go. Remember who you are. You are a child of the King, and He is ready to receive all that is on your heart. Don’t let guilt – which is not of Him – keep you from Him.
Blessings!