Dealing with Guilt and Shame
Getting over the guilt and memories of past sin is never easy... especially if the sinning has been going on for a long time or is a severe or a deeply ingrained habit; not because God doesn't forgive instantly when we confess, but that WE sometimes have trouble forgiving ourselves. This is kind of a "false guilt" which Satan likes to use to keep the forgiven one from being an effective witness, and experiencing the joy of restoration.
Here are a few tips of how to overcome guilt...
1) We start with claiming 1 John 1:9 as a promise which God makes to us:
1 John 1:9 (KJV)
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
To claim a promise, you read it somewhere in God's word, then you pray to God and say "Lord you have promised that if I confess my sins to You, You will forgive me and cleanse me. I choose to believe that You will keep Your Word in this promise, and I accept Your forgiveness and Your cleansing of my soul... I will trust You to keep Your word, because of Jesus' Death on the Cross... Amen.
We confess, God keeps His promise, God forgives, God cleanses. The cleansing is an on-going process. It occurs as we read the Bible and apply the truths to ourselves. Then the Holy Spirit gives us the power to overcome the temptation the next time.
2) Next, consider this verse:
Isa 1:16-20 (KJV)
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; {17} Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. {18} Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. {19} If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: {20} But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Note the words in vs. 16-17..."cease to do evil, learn to do well". I heard a preacher say once that when you quit doing some sin in your life, in order to prevent it from re-occurring, you should replace it with a good Christian trait or some good Christian activity or service.
This is because there is like a "hole in your soul" (figuratively speaking) that needs filling because there once was a habit there. You spent time doing this sin, invested money and effort in it, maybe, and got some enjoyment from it. Now the activity of the sin is gone, but there is a time, activity and satisfaction void there that needs to be filled.
So, for example, if the Lord has delivered you from listening to rock music, listen to some Christian or classical music instead. You have a "music need", maybe even a musical gift. Give that gift to the Lord for His glory and service. Don’t give up if it doesn’t seem to satisfy right away. Old habits die hard... your brain needs to be reprogrammed. Volunteer to sing at a nursing home or a children ward in a hospital. Learn how to play an instrument...
The same principle works for more serious sins. It may be referred to as “The Principle of Replacement”.
So for example if you have been released from getting high on drugs or alcohol, you need to identify all the "benefits" you were receiving from getting high... escape from reality, guilt, anger, boredom, whatever... physical benefits, like the rush from a high, forgetful-ness, anesthesia, unconsciousness. Of course, the medical problems of addiction are very real too, but the "mental addiction" is something that needs to be replaced with something positive...
1) Replace escape from this world's sick reality with the heavenly reality of Biblical promises and study of future Glory in the presence of God. Replace the "high" of the drugs with the joy and peace which come from prolonged praising of the Lord in prayer and worship.
2) Replace guilt with the realization of God's forgiveness for your past, and learn to forgive yourself. We have no right to remember what God has forgotten.
3) Deal with anger and rage. Confess these as sins, and then forgive those who have done you wrong. And instead, volunteer to help out at a nursing home or hospital children ward, sharing Christ's love instead of stewing in depression and emptiness, or start a home Bible study and prayer group with a few of your like-minded Christian friends.
4) Practice praying and praising the Lord in prayer, and in song, and share your faith and experience of release with those who may be trapped in the same sins you once were, and need to be rescued. This is actually expressed in the following verse: 2 Cor. 1:3-5 (KJV) Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; {4} Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. {5} For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
The final thing one should do is to learn how to "pray a psalm". This means getting alone with God, in a quiet place, and concentrating on each and every phrase of the psalm, and praying it back to God as if it were your own words. At certain times of guilt or persecution, we cannot think of what to pray. This is why God gives us these Psalms, so that we can pour our heart out to God and be guided in our prayer by God's wisdom.
The following Psalm is most precious, and is one of great help in overcoming and confessing the sources of guilt and shame...
Read Psalm 51:1-17 (KJV)
God bless you in your walk with Jesus.
Getting over the guilt and memories of past sin is never easy... especially if the sinning has been going on for a long time or is a severe or a deeply ingrained habit; not because God doesn't forgive instantly when we confess, but that WE sometimes have trouble forgiving ourselves. This is kind of a "false guilt" which Satan likes to use to keep the forgiven one from being an effective witness, and experiencing the joy of restoration.
Here are a few tips of how to overcome guilt...
1) We start with claiming 1 John 1:9 as a promise which God makes to us:
1 John 1:9 (KJV)
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
To claim a promise, you read it somewhere in God's word, then you pray to God and say "Lord you have promised that if I confess my sins to You, You will forgive me and cleanse me. I choose to believe that You will keep Your Word in this promise, and I accept Your forgiveness and Your cleansing of my soul... I will trust You to keep Your word, because of Jesus' Death on the Cross... Amen.
We confess, God keeps His promise, God forgives, God cleanses. The cleansing is an on-going process. It occurs as we read the Bible and apply the truths to ourselves. Then the Holy Spirit gives us the power to overcome the temptation the next time.
2) Next, consider this verse:
Isa 1:16-20 (KJV)
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; {17} Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. {18} Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. {19} If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: {20} But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Note the words in vs. 16-17..."cease to do evil, learn to do well". I heard a preacher say once that when you quit doing some sin in your life, in order to prevent it from re-occurring, you should replace it with a good Christian trait or some good Christian activity or service.
This is because there is like a "hole in your soul" (figuratively speaking) that needs filling because there once was a habit there. You spent time doing this sin, invested money and effort in it, maybe, and got some enjoyment from it. Now the activity of the sin is gone, but there is a time, activity and satisfaction void there that needs to be filled.
So, for example, if the Lord has delivered you from listening to rock music, listen to some Christian or classical music instead. You have a "music need", maybe even a musical gift. Give that gift to the Lord for His glory and service. Don’t give up if it doesn’t seem to satisfy right away. Old habits die hard... your brain needs to be reprogrammed. Volunteer to sing at a nursing home or a children ward in a hospital. Learn how to play an instrument...
The same principle works for more serious sins. It may be referred to as “The Principle of Replacement”.
So for example if you have been released from getting high on drugs or alcohol, you need to identify all the "benefits" you were receiving from getting high... escape from reality, guilt, anger, boredom, whatever... physical benefits, like the rush from a high, forgetful-ness, anesthesia, unconsciousness. Of course, the medical problems of addiction are very real too, but the "mental addiction" is something that needs to be replaced with something positive...
1) Replace escape from this world's sick reality with the heavenly reality of Biblical promises and study of future Glory in the presence of God. Replace the "high" of the drugs with the joy and peace which come from prolonged praising of the Lord in prayer and worship.
2) Replace guilt with the realization of God's forgiveness for your past, and learn to forgive yourself. We have no right to remember what God has forgotten.
3) Deal with anger and rage. Confess these as sins, and then forgive those who have done you wrong. And instead, volunteer to help out at a nursing home or hospital children ward, sharing Christ's love instead of stewing in depression and emptiness, or start a home Bible study and prayer group with a few of your like-minded Christian friends.
4) Practice praying and praising the Lord in prayer, and in song, and share your faith and experience of release with those who may be trapped in the same sins you once were, and need to be rescued. This is actually expressed in the following verse: 2 Cor. 1:3-5 (KJV) Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; {4} Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. {5} For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
The final thing one should do is to learn how to "pray a psalm". This means getting alone with God, in a quiet place, and concentrating on each and every phrase of the psalm, and praying it back to God as if it were your own words. At certain times of guilt or persecution, we cannot think of what to pray. This is why God gives us these Psalms, so that we can pour our heart out to God and be guided in our prayer by God's wisdom.
The following Psalm is most precious, and is one of great help in overcoming and confessing the sources of guilt and shame...
Read Psalm 51:1-17 (KJV)
God bless you in your walk with Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment