Overcoming guilt day eight

We all have inside of us an inner calling that lets us know when we have become less than the potential we have within us to become in life. Sometimes potential is offset by opportunity lost. Sometimes potential is offset by bad luck or bad life choices. Regardless of our circumstances, guilt in the form of regret, begins to build in us when we don't measure up to our God given potential. There are times when this inner pressure can turn into anger, jealousy, bitterness, when we see someone else that seems to have exceeded all expectations in their own life.

Most of us can think of someone we know who seem to have succeeded all though they really didn't deserve it. In this life, the one that works the hardest doesn't always get the promotion. The one that actually went to class and did their homework on time isn't always the one that gets the best job after graduation. The one that stayed home and didn't get involved with illegal activities is not always the one that is prosperous and has plenty of money to spend. While it is true that many times failure to work hard, or missing class, or becoming involved in illegal activities will ruin and devastate your life there are times that people seem to prosper in spite of breaking the laws of prosperity.

There are also times when people work hard and do things right and they end up with a lucky break in life. Yet, there may be another who works just as hard but gets no where. This can cause hard feelings, regrets, bitterness, jealousy, all which just adds to our feelings of guilt. Why is it that some people prosper and others do not prosper. What can we do when we know that we have so much more God-given potential than what we are currently living up to? To answer that question you have to see where you are in life. The first thing we should ask ourselves is why we can't just go out and get the position in life that we deserve. What is holding us back? Often times the answer to that question is that our current life circumstances re now taking up our time and resources. For some people having the responsibilities of raising children and providing for a family consumes everything and there is no longer any time left for making our lives better. It like our life is locked in, but, that can be a problem when we aren't happy where that life is leading us.

Sometimes it is as if we are locked into a certain position in life and breaking free of that is hard once our life has taken root. We can feel like we are trapped into a certain position in life. We can feel we are trapped into a no where marriage. We can feel like we are stuck in an unwanted job. The list could go on and on. The longer we stay under this kind of stress the larger our unhappiness can grow. No doubt there are people reading this that can relate to what I am saying. How can you 'let go' of the things that have bound you down without destroying the foundations of the life that you already have built. My question is how can you not let go of the things that have you bound? You can find yourself in a position where you want to let go of the things that bind you, but you are concerned that you will destroy the lives of those who currently depend on you on the process. This can leave you feeling torn, and unhappy.

No matter how stressful, you must find your place and your calling in life. If you don't find your personal happiness then eventually you will just have it all fall apart anyway. How many people have you seen that just fell apart in their forties? When we hit midlife whatever we have built in our lives that isn't producing good fruit just falls away. No matter how much sacrifice we have made to stay in situations in which we are unhappy if it is producing the bad fruit of unfulfillment we will likely walk away from it at midlife. People are often puzzeled why someone who seemed so faithful to their job and their family just goes bonkers in their forties and just walks away. Midlife is a time when our lives are put under a magnifying glass. Whatever we have in life gets blown up. If we are unhappy, that will be magnified and our years of neglect to our own happiness will catch up to us. The result is that we just walk away, refusing to see how bad we hurt our own selves in the process. Also, remember this, if your spouse is unhappy, and they have been just going along with everything, it won't last forever. You need to find a way to fulfill that longing they have inside. Eventually the unhappiness they feel will magnify and they will just walk away.

Am I saying that we should just leave our spouse now? Leave our jobs, leave whatever is making us feel trapped so that pressure of unhappiness doesn't build up in our lives. That isn't what I am saying. What I am saying is that sacrificing your happiness to fulfill responsibilities isn't good enough in the long run. If you are unfulfilled keep striving to improve your current life situations until you find a measure of fulfillment and happiness. Don't lie to yourself by thinking that sacrificing your happiness is the right thing to do if it benefits everyone else around you. In the end you will do so much mental and emotional damage to yourself that you will eventually walk away and lose it all anyway. Keep pressing in and striving until you can find away to live in your current situation with your family, without sacrificing your happiness to do so. I know that some people will think that living in their current situation and finding any happiness is not possible at all. With man, yes it is impossible, yet, with God all things are possible.