How to Let Go of Guilt

I have been thinking about redemption lately, I think it’s because God has been ministering to me a lot on His grace!  I continue to learn so much about Him as I have to remind myself of His grace, especially in areas of my life that I come up short in. I think so many times we find ourselves in church carrying around more weight from guilt and condemnation than we do freedom and forgiveness.

I’ve been in the church for about 20 years and I remember coming to know Christ as a 21-year-old young lady and I was so swept off my feet by Jesus, He loved me just the way I was. He caught my heart! He gave me a second chance, third chance, fourth chance, etc. He forgave me and He didn’t hold anything against me! For the first time in my life I could just be me.

In this journey of faith and in the church, I have seen how so many times the longer we are saved, we can be judged or criticized in areas of our life that we may still struggle with or that we just haven’t gotten together. It seems like we are forgiven more quickly when we first come to Christ. I know we all have our own demons we fight, however the fight of faith is not to conquer every demon we deal with—that’s not reality. The prize doesn’t go to the individual who fought all their demons and won!

The prize goes to the one that kept their heart pure, serving the Lord, obeyed and tried to live right and made it to the end without a bitter heart and a heart filled with unforgiveness.

If there is anything we can learn on this journey it’s that we will never be perfect.  The grace of God is what covers our imperfections and sin. We must always try to live right and live a life of repentance; however, it’s not our job to judge or criticize one another as brothers and sisters in Christ when we come up short or to not forgive ourselves for what we’ve done wrong.

God is a just God and He is faithful. God is love, and I am reminded of what His Word says:

1 Corinthians 13 Amplified Bible (AMP)

13 If I [can] speak in the tongues of men and [even] of angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such [as is inspired by God’s love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

² And if I have prophetic powers (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love (God’s love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody).

³ Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but have not love (God’s love in me), I gain nothing.

⁴ Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

⁵ It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchyor fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

⁶ It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when rightand truth prevail.

⁷ Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

⁸ Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].

⁹ For our knowledge is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect), and our prophecy (our teaching) is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect).

¹⁰ But when the complete and perfect (total) comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away (become antiquated, void, and superseded).

¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside.

¹² For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as [in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand [fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been [fully and clearly known and understood [by God].

¹³ And so faith, hope, love abide [faith—conviction and belief respecting man’s relation to God and divine things; hope—joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love—true affection for God and man, growing out of God’s love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.