Released From Guilt

And He said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:11-24

Each of the emotions we are dealing with stem from sin; they stem from a wrong reaction to a situation in life. Anxiety, loneliness, fear, and guilt are all results of wrong responses.

Probably a most common and hard to deal with emotion is that of guilt. We won’t even go into false guilt. What about the real guilt we encounter - real guilt over real sin? How can a person deal with and get rid of the grinding effects of real guilt?

Step one - confess your sin. Tell God what it is by name.
Step two - confess your sin to the person involved.
Step three - make amends.
Step four - accept God’s forgiveness. This may sound easy but it probably the hardest to accomplish.

The problem with getting relief, liberty, and release from guilt is not whether God will forgive but whether you are able to accept God’s forgiveness. When you are released from guilt, you experience a lightness of spirit which no words can describe. It’s worth the effort.

Have you done something and you fear that you’ll be found out and punished?