Overwhelmed with guilt? Sometimes it feels like it is coming from all sides! It is a destructive emotion that can eat away at our sense of self worth and we lose our self respect. Our fear dictates guilt. Fear of losing people we love because of our actions. Fear of not being able to change present circumstances, and fear that we will never measure up!
There are two types of guilt. True guilt is an objective fact based on real circumstance. Perceived guilt is the feeling of the pain of rejection. Both can be powerful motivators for change, but they can not build and encourage and inspire.
So how do we stop feeling guilty? For true guilt, make amends, fix what damage that we can, and move on. Perceived guilt is a little trickier because it is conditioned in us from an early age. People surround us who are experts at illiciting that feeling in us. We just can't ever seem to do anything right. Somehow we must understand that this is their way of managing their own guilt, by projecting it on to us. Some of us have been a victim of this for so long, we have actually come to believe that we are the guilty ones.
Regardless of what kind of guilt you are feeling today, the prayer is the same:
Lord in Heaven, You created us in Your image. My free will gets me into trouble time and time again. Help me to understand what my feelings of guilt really are! Help me to look at my self worth through Your eyes instead of my own. Guide me in understanding the powerful motivation that Satan has in keeping my guilt front and center. It keeps me from being closer to You and those that I love. Your Son bore the burden of all my sins, God. I am forgiven by You by Your grace and awesome power. It is time for me to forgive myself. It may be the hardest thing I ever have to do. AMEN
Romans 8:1
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