When Guilt Knocks Here Is What To Do

Guilt is one of those feelings that keeps you awake at night, distracts you through the day and becomes the first in line for the reasons things are going or have gone wrong. It shows you things that are not there. It tells you things that are not so. Such is the power of guilt.

Obviously it only has this power when you are guilty of having done something wrong and your past haunts you.

One of the problems with guilt is that it can also work it’s way into the mix when something happens where you are the victim. It has a way of turning the event on you as it blames you for what happens. You feel guilty of something that you did not initiate. Below, I have listed a series of questions and suggestions as to how to handle guilt.

When I have done something wrong, I become anxious when I am in a situation that reminds me of my guilt. I hold my breath because I am not sure how things may turn out. Every sound I hear, every thought I have, every movement I see that could implicate me, I immediately become tense. There is a Proverb that says “the wicked flees when no one pursues.” This is guilt at work. You feel as if someone is always pursuing you when you are filled with guilt.

As I stated before, guilt shows up and blames your mishaps as punishment for what you have done wrong. This is what happened to the widow of Zarephath. The bible does not say what had happened, but the text implies that she was carrying guilt around with her.

Here is what she said to Elijah when her son had died. She thought his death was punishment for some sins she had committed: “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?” (1 Kings 17:18 NLT) The power of guilt to even use the death of a child as reason for a wrong doing.

When you feel guilty, here are 2 questions to have at your disposal:

1. What did you DO wrong? If nothing, why are you carrying someone else’s burden? Let it go. If you have done something, then do #2.
2. Have you sought forgiveness? If yes, then walk in that forgiveness by reminding yourself as often as possible of this. If no, seek forgiveness immediately.

When guilt calls after having done #1 and #2 above, do not answer the phone. If you do answer because there was no caller-ID, hang up immediately. Do not have any lengthy conversations.

What are your thoughts on feelings of guilt? How do you handle guilt feelings? Leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you today.