No More Guilt

We have all been in a place where we feel guilty for the sins we have committed. I was at a point where I would beat myself up about the smallest things and the guilt just continued to build until I became angry. I want to share a poem I wrote in a time where the guilt was so strong and I was completely broken and angry:

No More Guilt

So much anger building inside,

and I keep wanting answers to why.

Is it from the sins I've committed,

and the guilt I feel from it?

So much shame I feel from sin,

it's like a battle I can't win.

Just want to cover my face and hide,

feels like I'm dying slowly inside.

Every time I fall back to sin,

I feel like giving up and letting my flesh win.

Then I realize that's a lie from hell,

Satan would love to see me fail.

If I give up now Satan is victorious,

but I serve Christ the one who's glorious.

Even when I feel like giving up,

the Holy Spirit steps in and tells me "STAND UP!"

I hear his voice so very clear,

He says "Even when you fall, I'm always near."

Now I'm turning anger into prayer,

Jesus is working on my heart and peeling back the layers.

Now anytime I feel anger and guilt arise,

I turn my eyes up toward the sky.

Jesus will never let go of my hand,

Even when I fall over and over again.

No matter how my sin makes me feel,

When I give it to Christ, there is NO MORE GUILT!

I believe the initial guilt we feel from our sin is not necessarily a bad thing because that guilt can lead us to repentance. Although, when we continue to hold on to that guilt after we have repented is when it becomes a hindrance. If we continue to hold on to guilt, it will continue to build up and lead to anger. Anger can actually hinder your growth because we become so focused on our sin that we forget what Jesus did on the cross. Yes, we have to strive to be holy and righteous, but know that when we fall, Jesus is there to lift us up and our sin is covered by the blood of Christ.
I'd like to share some verses that encourage me when guilt weighs me down:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. - 1 John 1:9

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. - 1 Corinthians 10:13

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. - Romans 3:23-24

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. - 1 John 2:1

He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. - Micah 7:19
 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. - Acts 8:22 

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. - Romans 8:1

 Always remember, sin separates us from God but not His LOVE!

The Broken Pen

I sat here in my office today and watched my client try to repair his broken pen by tearing apart another pen to use the parts that were missing from his broken pen. He ended up with two broken pens instead of one. This made me think, we often do the same thing as people, to one another. We are broken and turn to someone else to find what is missing in our own lives. In this way, we attempt to use other people to fix what is broken as if they are some kind of savior. This process always leads to two broken people just as it did with the broken pen my client was trying to repair. If he would have taken the pen to the manufacturer where the pen was made, they could have repaired the pen without another pen being broken in the process. Likewise with us, we should go to the manufacturer (GOD) as well. God can fix our brokenness unlike any other person on this earth. When we turn to God with our brokenness, we avoid breaking (hurting) someone else trying to fix ourselves. Here are some scriptures that promise God will heal our broken hearts:

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. - Psalms 34:18

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. - Psalms 147:3

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. - Matthew 5:3-4

God promises to heal our broken hearts. Don't turn to others to repair what only God can repair. After all, He is the one who "manufactured" us!