Breaking the Chains of Guilt and Shame – A Christian’s Journey to Freedom
Guilt is so heavy. The weight of shame and regret can make us feel so unworthy to be loved, that we hide from others and even hide from God.
This video is going to help you discover true freedom as you break the chains of guilt and shame. Stay to the end because we are going to discover amazing power in God’s Word – with something you’ve probably never noticed before – and this power will set you free and change your life forever.
King David felt the horrible isolation of guilt three thousand years ago and we can feel his cry inside his words, “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away and I groaned all day long” (Psalm 32:3). Doesn’t that sound like someone who is consumed by guilt or shame?
Our sins can pull us down and away from God. David feels the heaviness of his sin as he continues, “My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.” (Psalm32:4). Try to envision water evaporating in the hot desert – that is the power of guilt.
We learn about guilt and shame at an early age – like the time when little Johnny sat in the dark corner of his bedroom ALL BY HIMSELF – pouting and sad. No one put him there and no one punished him, yet the weight of guilt burdened this little boy to make him hide in self-imposed solitary confinement.
Satan cheers us on when we hide from others as he scolds, “no one would love us if they knew how bad we really were.” His goal is to isolate us, break us, and make us live small lives compared to the abundant life that Jesus came to give us.
We obviously cannot undo our past mistakes, but God provided a proven solution to help us overcome guilt, and this part of the video is what you’ve been waiting for.
Let’s imagine little Johnny once again as his bedroom door opens and Mommy asks, “What’s wrong?” The boy turns away from the corner, his self-imposed prison, looks up with tears and says, “I’m sorry for eating all the cookies Mommy.” And then it happens!! When Mommy smiles, puts her son in her arms, wipes his tears and says, “I forgive you, and I love you so much!” the weight of the world comes off that boy and he cannot help but smile again. Of course, she knows this won’t be the last time that Johnny deliberately does something wrong, yet her love saves the day!
And this is how it is with God and us! Just feel the heaviness lift from David when he says, “Finally, I confessed all my sins to God and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.’ And God forgave me! ALL MY GUILT IS GONE” (Psalm32:5).
All of David’s guilt is gone. Disappeared. Vanished. There is not even a hint of guilt. And isn’t this what we want – to break the chains of guilt and shame in our lives! We want God to hold, comfort, and forgive us – to take away our guilt and shame, and that is exactly what he does when we confess our sins to him.
Let’s take these thoughts even deeper and think about our guilt being gone – gone in a whole new way… What if your dad went to the store and bought you something and paid for it. He gives you item and the receipt. So imagine if someone told you that you had to pay for it again. It would be totally unfair to pay for the same thing twice – right? WE WOULD NEVER DO THIS!
Likewise, when Jesus died on the cross, he paid for our sins, and paid the price in full. We have the receipt written in our Bibles! This means it would be totally unfair if we were made to pay again for our sins if Jesus already paid for them. GOD WOULD NEVER DO THIS TO US!
Here is the key! See how your Bible says, “If you confess your sins, God is faithful and JUST to forgive your sins.” (1 John 1:9). Notice that your Bible does NOT say, “If you confess your sins, God is faithful and MERCIFUL to forgive your sins.”
Take a moment to grasp the magnitude of God’s divine justice. God forgiving our sins is not based on mercy, but instead it is an issue of justice because THERE IS NO WAY THAT GOD WOULD EVER CHARGE US TWICE! God knows Jesus has already paid the full and complete price for our sins.
Now we must ask…. If we would never pay for something twice at the store, why do we decide to shackle ourselves with guilt and shame and pay for something over and over again? All we need to do to break these shackles is to be like David and confess our sins to God, and then we are free! Confess our sins – just like little Johnny to his mom. Confess our sins to Jesus, and God will be faithful and just to forgive us! Our debt is paid and our guilt is gone!
Like all solutions, we need to remember that guilt and shame WILL RETURN because one of Satan’s favorite ways to get us is to focus on our failures. This is not a one and done solution – but is here for us to use whenever guilt starts to creep into our lives.
Let’s pray, “Dear Jesus, I am so sorry for my sins. I’m sorry for my selfishness. And more than that, I am sorry for turning my back on you. Jesus, thank you for forgiving me and paying the full price for all of my sins. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for setting me free of guilt and shame. Amen.”
If you’re struggling with not feeling good enough, or you want an easy habit that will take your relationship with God to the next level, click on our recommended articles. Then check out our free MP3 or PDF of our book “Why Wait To Be Happy” where you’ll discover God’s solutions for defeating so many of Satan’s lies. We’ll see you there!
