Lilian didn’t have peace about her father’s death even though he died almost six years ago. They had never been close, and she’s the first one to say that she loved him but didn’t like him all that much. He abused her mom for most of their marriage, and Lilian never understood why her mother never left. It was hard on her and her two brothers. The weekends were the worst, when he’d come home drunk, violent, and ready to let loose on them. She was only a teenager then, but there were plenty of nights that she wished he’d die. When he finally did, she was relieved that her mother would be free of his abuse, but as an adult believer learning more about Christ, she is convicted and the guilt of wishing her father’s death is weighing down.
Struggling in just about every aspect of her life, Lilian believes that she can’t get ahead because God is punishing her. She isn’t happy and feels that every time she takes one step forward, something happens to knock her two steps backward. Many individuals are imprisoned by guilt because they don’t know enough about God and the forgiveness that He offers. They may have been wrongly taught that He punishes His people and wants them to suffer for their wrongdoing. Nothing can be further from the truth. John 3:16(NKJV) proclaims the Good News to us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Our Heavenly Father sent His only begotten Son to the earth to save us from sin. God wants us to be free, and He accomplished this through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our powerful Lord and Savior!
All of us did things that were not aligned with God’s love and Word before we accepted Jesus Christ. We were estranged from God and didn’t include Him in our choices and decisions. We leaned on ourselves and others, and often others failed us and sometimes we disappointed ourselves. That cycle of disappointment and grief ends when we have faith in the victory that Jesus won for us on the cross. The Apostle John said in 1John 2:12(NLT), “I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.” Because of what God accomplished through Christ, our friendship with Him is restored. We can pray to God, have conversations with Him and come into His presence and throne of grace boldly. This great privilege and honor to have fellowship with the Creator of all we survey isn’t because of anything we’ve done. It’s because of what He’s done. He wanted to have a relationship with each of us, and the greatest thing that any of us will ever do in all eternity is to have and honor our relationship with Him through Christ.
Repentance
All of us should acknowledge our sin, repent from it by seeking God’s forgiveness, and then overcome it by no longer allowing it room in our lives. Lilian got the first part right, but rather than repenting from her sin and guilt and leaving it at the cross, she kept it in her heart and mind. She closed the door on the work God wanted to do in her through the Holy Spirit. Our Great Redeemer took our sin and guilt to the cross. He carried the burden of it on his back when he was forced to walk up the hill to Golgotha where he was crucified on the cross. God doesn’t do things half-way. Every detail to take care of our sin and guilt was accomplished through Christ. Our issue is that we will not wholeheartedly believe in God’s finished work for us. We are being tricked by satan to let sin and guilt weigh us down.
Acts 3:19(NLT) tells us, “Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.” To repent is to recognize our wrong, seek God’s forgiveness, and then change our minds and hearts so that we release the sin and do not continue to indulge it. God releases us from guilt as soon as we ask for His forgiveness. It is a burden we no longer have to carry because when our Heavenly Father forgives us, we can then forgive ourselves and move forward in His blessings and grace.
If we are refusing or neglecting to accept the forgiveness and freedom that Jesus Christ sacrificed his life for, life can seem to be moving in reverse. Jesus Christ invites us in Matthew 11:28-30 to bring all our heavy burdens to him, and he will give us rest for our weary souls. We need to accept his invitation and do so quickly. Don’t allow feelings of quilt, remorse, or sadness to govern your life. Release them and accept the love and forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ. Rise higher in your pursuit of the Father and His Word. The chains of guilt and sin will fall away and the joy of God’s forgiveness will fill your heart.■
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Getting Rid of the Guilt”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2023. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.