Overcoming Guilt Overview

Guilt may be a five letter word, but it often has the impact of a four letter word when it is present in our lives. Guilt can enter into our lives in many ways. Often we commit a minor offence when we are young such as disappointing someone that we love and guilt gets planted into our heart as a tiny seed. With each new failure we water the seed and guilt becomes intertwined around our hearts like a poisonous vine. It can inhibit our ability to produce a productive and healthy life. To make matters worse, guilt will often lead us into more self destructive things such as drug abuse, lying to others, or serious crime.

Guilt will often make you feel as is everything that was ever wrong in your life was the result of your failures. It may make you feel as if the people that your life touches would be better off without your influences. Guilt ridden people may see themselves as a burden to others. Notice in my blog how many times I have used the word 'feel'. That's because guilt dramatically effects what we think about ourselves and that impacts how we feel. Guilt can sometimes manifest in your life when you actually have done nothing 'wrong'. Guilt can be the result of just not living up to someone else's expectations. Regardless of the source, guilt can be a devastating factor in the lives of those who carry it.

Guilt is a negative factor in the lives of people, but conviction is the true master of change and repentance. What is the difference between guilt and conviction? Guilt makes you look at yourself. Guilt says to your inner conscience, "Look at what you did." Conviction, on the other hand, will say to you, "Forget what you did, look at what God is offering to you." Guilt will say, "Your past will always be out in front of you." Conviction says, " Forget the past, will you come to Jesus now?" Guilt says to us, " You are no good, you are worth nothing. " Conviction states, "God loves and values you, forget about yourself and surrender to God." The basic difference between guilt and conviction is that guilt focuses attention on yourself and the awful deeds that you did. Conviction will focus your attention on God and your need of Him in your life. Guilt will make you feel like you are a bad person. Conviction will take your attention away from you, and focus your attention on the free gift of mercy and forgiveness from God.

Guilt will make you think you have to be punished for the things you have done. Guilt tries to promote itself as the punisher in your life. Many times, we feel so bad about what we have done that we agree with the idea that we need to be punished. We seldom consciously say to ourselves, "I should be punished for what I have done." But, subconsciously we tear ourselves apart with degrading thoughts about ourselves. Subconsciously we are punishing ourselves. We allow guilt to torment us with self defeating thoughts. We allow guilt to throw our past out in front of us, and every time we try to 'move on' we have to first navigate past our guilt. Sometimes we just stay in the same spot in life unable to move forward because each time we try to move forward we trip over our guilt and fall in a heap. That increases the power of guilt in our lives.

What is the first step to getting over guilt? The first step is realizing that you do not deserve to be punished by guilt. Self punishment only leads to depression, it does not lead to renewal. We do not need punished, we need renewed. Let go of the idea that somehow you will always be unhappy because of your past failures. Stop punishing yourself. We punish ourselves with negative thoughts, with abusive or compulsive behavior and abusive addictions. No matter how much you try to use abusive or compulsive behavior to get away from the negative thoughts that you have about yourself they always remain. No matter how much you try to run yourself to death through work or play you can't out run the problems. We have to face guilt and we have to call its bluff. Guilt says that your life will never be restored and that you will always be haunted by your past. God says something else.

Guilt resides in your thoughts and impacts your emotions and ultimately you self defeat everything you do. The key to overcoming guilt is in your thoughts. Keep watch on your thoughts. Your thoughts are the seeds that you plant into your life that eventually spring up into actions. If you have been plagued by guilt, guard your thoughts. Disagree with every thought that belittles who you are. Renewal of your soul will come as you battle against the thoughts that guilt implants into your mind. If guilt has set up residency in your life, battle those self defeating thoughts and let God's forgiveness renew your soul and your mind.