I
have struggled with guilt for as long as I can remember.
At
about 2:30 this morning, I awakened, feeling thankful about something. It was a
nice feeling. I adjusted my position in bed, prepared to go back to sleep, but
then the not-so-warm-and-fuzzy thoughts started to hit me. For some reason, I
started to review things from the previous day that I wished I could do
differently. “I said too much about that,” I chastised myself. “I should have
done that better!” I insisted. I quickly entered a futile cycle of scolding
myself and then trying to shake the negative thoughts.
I
wish the battle was easy. We know from 2 Corinthians 10:5 that we are to take
every thought captive. As someone who is generally more mentally than emotionally
driven, it seems like I should be able to do just that, but sometimes it’s
easier said than done.
Fortunately,
and by God’s grace, I have made some progress. Here are some tips for when you
are battling guilt:
1)
Read the Bible
and pray.
When we were little, a good friend of mine used that answer for almost every
question posed during Sunday School. He was joking, but his answer was surprisingly
profound (and easy to remember). Communicating with the God of the universe
through prayer and His Word meets a lot of needs! Even more specifically, memorized
Scripture helps me a great deal when I am battling negative thoughts. Not only
2 Corinthians 10:5 (mentioned above), but other verses that specifically
address the area where I feel guilty. Last night I actually got out of bed and
read my Bible for a while. I mentally and emotionally grabbed one verse (Psalm
123:1) to cling to and meditate on as I tried to go back to sleep.
2)
Discern whether
you have truly sinned. This was probably my biggest revelation regarding
the battle with guilt. (It came through a Bible study I completed several years
ago: http://smile.amazon.com/Institute-Biblical-Counseling-Discussion-Guides/dp/0891096922/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410885656&sr=8-1&keywords=0891096922.) Ask yourself,
“Was that actually a sin?” If so, confess and renounce it (to God and whomever
else was involved), and then move on. If it wasn’t a sin, then learn what you
can from the incident and don’t lose any more sleep over it. Sometimes we do
things that might embarrass us, but that’s not sin, so we are still right with
God and the world.
3)
Humble yourself. The verse that
helped me this morning (Psalm 123:1) says: “I lift my eyes to you, O God,
enthroned in heaven.” As I prayed and meditated on this verse, I was reminded
of another good truth I learned years ago: Insecurity
is another form of pride. Why do I relive moments I wish I could have done
differently? Because I’m embarrassed. Why am I embarrassed? I could say
insecurity, which doesn’t sound very offensive, and certainly seems empathetic.
However, insecurity it still all about us.
Insecurity says, “I don’t believe what God has told me about myself. I want
something better. What He’s offered is not enough.” That’s pride. I needed to
humble myself before the great God, who sits on the throne. He is enough. What
He thinks about me is enough.
For
more on the topic of guilt, consider my favorite guilt verse: “Godly sorrow
brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly
sorrow brings death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).
God
wants us to address our guilt with godly sorrow. What should this godly sorrow lead
to?
After
we repent, how should we feel?
Do
the world and the enemy want us to receive forgiveness so easily?
If
we choose to handle guilt the way the world wants, where does that path lead?
I
choose the godly way. I choose no regret.
Though
sometimes, like last night, it might take a little while to achieve that. J
