Can you feel the heaviness behind the word, guilt?  Guilt can be such a paralyzing and overwhelming feeling.  Guilt can make us feel remorse, regret, shame and sorrow, but worse than all that, guilt can make us feel so unworthy to be loved, so unlovable, that we hide from others and even hide from God.      

Satan revels in our guilt and tries to weigh us down, burden us with dark thoughts, so we hide in self-imposed solitary confinement.  We learn about guilt and shame at an early age – like the time when little Johnny sat in the corner of his bedroom all by himself – pouting and sad.  No one put him there, and it didn’t take much prodding to find out that he had deliberately eaten every last cookie.  

Most people – no matter what their religious beliefs or cultural background – share a common feeling of guilt or brokenness – of not being as we ought to be – when we do something wrong.  

We are all very much like King David who cried out, “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long.” (Psalm 32:3NLT)  Who can say that they haven’t felt this way after yelling words of anger?  And when David says, “I groaned all day long,” doesn’t that sound like someone who is consumed by guilt, bitterness or shame?

Yes – our sins can pull us down.  Waste us away.  David feels the heaviness of his sin as he continues, “Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.” (Psalm32:4NLT).  Can you feel his weariness?  Can you envision water evaporating in the hot desert – that is the power of guilt.

How can we overcome this overwhelming guilt?

Let’s all imagine little Johnny once again.  The door opens, and Mommy asks what’s wrong.  Little Johnny turns away from the corner, his self-imposed prison, looks up with tears in his eyes and says, “I’m sorry, 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 that is how it is with God, as David says, “Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt.  I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.” (Psalm32:5NLT)

Yes!  I confess my sins and God forgives!

The apostle Paul exclaimed the same joy of forgiveness when he wrote, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?  Thank God! The answer is in Jesus.” (Romans 7:24-25NLT)

It has been said that the happiest people are those who have experienced the joy of being forgiven.   Because we all need to be forgiven.  We all fall short.  We all make mistakes.

And yes, the answer is in Jesus.  All my guilt is gone.  The Bible says it so beautifully, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins.” (1 John 1:9)

Let’s pray, “Dear Jesus, I am so sorry for my sins.  I’m sorry for my selfishness.   And more than that, I am so sorry for turning my back on you.  Dear Jesus, thank you for forgiving me.  Thank you for loving me.  Thank you for setting me free.  Thank you for never turning your back on me.”  

We only need to know one big thing.   Jesus died to forgive our sins.  It doesn’t matter what you’ve said or done, your sin is not bigger than Jesus.  Jesus already paid it all.  He paid it in full.  Through Jesus, all our guilt is gone.  Thank you for setting me free!