3 Keys to Conquering Guilt

             In the past, guilt has been a big struggle for me. I carried the burden of my sin around, thinking it made me humbler to be constantly reminded of my failures. I thought it made me godlier.

             That was a lie.

             Sister, I can tell you from what I’ve experienced in my life and seen in others. I beg you, do not try to bear the weight of you sin. Because you will stumble under it. It will crush you. Christ died for us so that we won’t HAVE to bear this overwhelming burden.

             I’ve experienced an incredible freedom from my guilt and it helped me realize three keys to conquering guilt that I hope you will find useful.

1. Look Upward

When you’re feeling the weight of your sin, you are thinking, “Me. My sin. My struggles. I’m bad.”

I’m not saying that coming to the point when you realize that YOU ARE A WRETCHED SINNER is bad, because we all need to come to that knowledge before we can even be saved. But once you have been saved and repented of your sins, it’s time to move on. You are righteous and holy before God because His Son claimed your sins as His own and bore the penalty.

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.  For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,  so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.”

Romans 8:1-6

Fix your eyes upon Christ, upon the cross, upon His sacrifice. When you’re struggling with guilt, sing songs in your head, or recite verses to yourself. Turn your eyes from you, the sinner, to the One who makes you clean. And KNOW that you are clean. You are free.

One thing that has helped me tremendously is to understand that Jesus did not just take my guilt, He took my shame. I no longer must be ashamed of my sin. Christ took that shame. You don’t have to bear it.

2. Fight Your Sin

I discovered that the guilt doesn’t go away if you’re still tempted to commit the same sin. The more you fall, and the more you’re tempted, the more you will hate yourself for succumbing in the past. The more it will weigh on you because you don’t feel free. This sin is still an encumbrance.

“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”

Colossians 3:5

I know it’s hard to just label a point, “Fight That Sin,” since you could have hundreds of blog posts and books written on that alone, but that’s not what this blog post is about. But it’s true—you’re not going to feel free from your sin until you’ve begun conquering it.

However, understanding that God has taken your guilt and taken your shame will help fight the sin in your life.

Get accountability. Get plugged into a local church. Find an older woman to mentor you and help you through your struggles. Don’t try to do everything alone. And definitely don’t wait to come to Christ for help until you feel worthy. Read this post, Come as You Are, about that.

3. Taste Something Better

Once you get a taste that the Lord’s ways are better, it becomes so much easier not only to beat guilt, but to beat temptation. God knew what He was doing by establishing right and wrong. Right is good, and wrong is bad. For some people, it may take some experimentation to find out that, “Oh, yeah, God IS right about this.” But it’s so much better if you just believe that it is.

“O taste and see that the Lord is good;

How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”

Psalm 34:8

It makes all the difference when you not only KNOW that something is better, but you UNDERSTAND that it is. Experiencing the beauty of God’s design makes anything else seem worthless. It makes it look like trash. Why would choose to wear filthy, ratty, old clothes to something like prom when you could be wearing a lovely, glittering gown? Why believe the lies of the devil when you can believe the truth of God?

Wrapping up…

God didn’t create you and free you from your sin so that you can still live in bondage. Our heavenly Father desperately desires for you to feel the freedom from your sin. Don’t let it bog you down. Surrender your sin and your guilt to Him.

If you cannot seem to get over your guilt, I recommend finding an older, godly mentor to help you talk through your sin and process your forgiveness. Sometimes you just need someone with a different perspective and more wisdom.

Jesus loved you enough to take your sins from you. Don’t cling to them—it’s an ugly weight to bear.

Have you struggled with guilt? What things have helped you overcome it? Any thoughts or stories? Share in the comments!