The Pain of Our Guilt and the Joy of God’s Forgiveness

Guilt. We don’t like the feeling of it, the weight of it on our conscience. In these secularist times you can hear people saying things like, ‘Don’t feel guilt, it’s bad for you.’ Or “Guilt is a waste of time.” The irony here is that it is the denial of guilt that is really bad for us, psychologically, socially, and morally, especially if it becomes a habit. To habitually deny guilt leads to the deadening of the conscience, which is our greatest protection against the ravages and consequences of our moral failures. Those who never feel guilt for anything, who never see themselves as wrong, are profoundly dangerous people.

None of us are sinless. All of us have made decisions, or done things that have harmed ourselves, or others, whether that be intentionally or unintentionally. Guilt is a natural reaction that follows hard upon seeing the negative consequences of our words or deeds on the other, or ourselves. Guilt, properly understood, is, in fact, a survival mechanism for the mind and the soul. It is a catalyst within us that challenges us to see our faults and to confess our offenses to the Lord. Admitting our guilt is the beginning of our healing. Rather than a burden on our freedom, it is the beginning of our freedom.

The psalmist understood this very clearly. Hidden guilt festers within us and damages us, morally, spiritually, and socially. Honest admission of guilt, while it may be painful and even involve ‘punishment’ of some kind, in the end, makes it possible for us to begin to heal. The psalmist tells us, “I kept my guilt a secret and my frame wasted, I groaned all day long for night and day your hand was heavy upon me…” (Ps. 32:3-4). “Happy the man whose offense is forgiven, whose sin is remitted” (verse 1). Guilt’s weight is a heavy burden indeed. But if we can admit our guilt and no longer try to hide from it with our rationalizations, our denials, and our silences, we can begin the long journey back to the joy of healed relationships with ourselves, others, and God.

It is in courageously admitting our faults, confessing them to the Lord that lifts the burden of our guilt from our minds and souls. It is in this that we joyfully encounter God’s willing, graceful, and unconditional forgiveness. And no guilt, no sin is too great to be beyond God’s forgiveness. In Luke 15:7 Jesus tells us in the Parable of the Lost Sheep, “…there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Though we wander away, Jesus never stops looking for us. He never forgets us. When we turn back to him we find not punishment, but unconditional forgiveness, and his open joy at our return.

Guilt is real, powerful, and painful. But God’s love and forgiveness are greater than all of the sins and guilt in human history. Look at the Cross. There is our salvation. There is our liberation from all of our guilt. Let go, and let God.