By Donnie O'Fallon
I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. Psalms 32:5
Guilt, grief and regrets seems to dog the footsteps of mankind. Regrets gnaws at us and our remorse stays with us. It seems to ever haunt us and we ask ourselves, "is there any way to banish the ghost of guilt and regrets". We replay the scenario in our minds asking, "what if I had not said that or done something different"? Our conscience is our internal parent that says, "you've messed up now, you're to blame, you really blew it this time"! We don't know how to turn it off and it blows out the lamp of Joy out of our lives.
Many lock themselves up as hopeless prisoners because of their past actions and attitudes. Life is hard and for folks who are trying to make it through today, the weight of guilt and regrets of yesterday creates a dread to even think about tomorrow and becomes unbearable.
How Do We Respond To Guilt and Regrets?
• Some people try to BURY their regrets. They lie to others and to themselves but their memory keeps the pain alive because they're unable to totally bury it.
• Some also attempt to MINIMIZE their regrets. They may tell themselves, " it's not a big deal, nobody's going to know, it's going to be ok".
• Some people attempt to RATIONALIZE their regrets with things like "I'm only human.”, “If you only knew my circumstances!”
• Still others COMPROMISE their regrets. Proverbs 28:13 records, "he who conceals his sin will not prosper". You can never bury your regrets! Neither can you blame others to try and remove the guilt and regret off yourself.
We Must Release Our Guilt and Regret!
1. It all begins with the Holy Spirit with in us bringing CONVICTION to our hearts. Specific conviction! You lied, you lusted, you lost your temper, you cheated. Satan is an, "accuser of the brethren". He accuses in a condemning way to push us away from God. Satan says, "it's not such a big deal” or “that's so big, God will never forgive you for that"! The Holy Spirit convicts in a redemptive way to draw us back to the God who desires to enjoy fellowship with us when our hearts are right with each other and toward Him.
2. Out of CONVICTION comes CONTRITION. A brokenness from our guilt and regret. Counselors or Psychologists may help us to deal with the feelings of our regrets, but God alone can remove the guilt and regret.
3. That brokenness should bring about our CONFESSION. The Greek word for Confession is homo meaning, "the same", lagao meaning, "to speak or to say", or to speak the same thing. First John 1:9 says, " If we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleans us from all unrighteousness.” I repent and turn from it, I take sides against it, I judge it in my own life. That's Biblical Confession is the only way to find release from our guilt and our regrets. You can't play, let's make a deal with God. He will deal with you only when you get honest with yourself and Him. The scriptures record, "There is therefore now, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”
4. You too can have that CONFIDENCE and freedom from guilt and regret. God says, "I will remember their sins no more"! He doesn't want to clean your plow, He wants to clean your conscience and give you release from your regrets if you'll let Him.
