There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1, ESV
Too many people are living with guilt and regret. You can’t change the past. The past is the past. What is done is done.
What you have is this moment. You can do now what you can do. You can learn from your past to not make the same mistake. But it does no good to dwell on your past. It is time to move forward. Don’t let the guilt paralyze you. Living with guilt only leads to more guilt.
There may be some consequences that you may need to learn to live with. It may be a debt. It may be a broken relationship. It may be the loss of an ability.
There may be reparations to be made. This is to make up for what you have done wrong. And maybe you will never be able to fully payback. But you can do what you can do.
How do you move past the guilt?
It starts with Jesus. Jesus took all our guilt to the cross. For those who are in Christ, there is no condemnation. Receive God’s forgiveness. Let it permeate every ounce of your being.
- Meditate on Scripture verses that promise God’s love.
- Receive the Lord’s Supper often as Jesus calls us to do.
- Confess your sins and receive absolution from your pastor.
- Remember God’s promises in your baptism.
You are forgiven. And you can trust God that he will make right everything that is wrong. This includes everything that you have done wrong.
It seems that those who carry guilt often can forgive everyone else but themselves. And when you dig deeper you often learn that it stems from abusive situations from childhood. Guilt and shame are poured on the victim from the abuser. The victim is led to believe that their abuse was their fault. If you are carrying such guilt I would strongly encourage you to seek professional counseling.
Another situation is where I see people carrying guilt for things that they had no control over. An example is when children carry guilt over their parent’s divorce. They think it is their fault. You have enough on your own to carry without trying to carry other people’s guilt.
The last thing I would say about giving up guilt is to make the most of your past mistakes. It is said that we either learn from the mistakes of others or we learn from our own mistakes. It is a lot less painful to learn from the mistakes of others. And that is something we can all strive towards. Consider how you can help others learn from your mistakes. There are probably some great lessons you have learned the hard way that you can share with others.
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