How do you deal with guilt when it has a stronghold over you and when long exposure to pain and sorrow over a past action has left you feeling like there is no hope? I have accepted Jesus but lately, I don’t feel I have faith for healing when the guilt and sorrow constantly remind me that there is no forgetting, especially when those I have harmed won’t forgive me. I want to know how do I as a believer deal with this situation?
If you’ve asked the Lord to forgive you for your past sins, then He has done so. Any guilt you now feel is a weapon Satan is using to keep you from achieving your victory over the past. If you have asked the people you harmed to forgive you and they won’t, then you should start asking the Lord to forgive them and to soften their hearts toward you. It may help to stay away from them for a while if you can.
As a believer who has confessed and been forgiven, you have the right to rebuke Satan in the Lord’s name, and to reject those feelings of guilt he’s trying to lay on you. Romans 8:1 says there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. James 4:7 says when we submit ourselves to God and resist the devil he will flee from us. 2 Cor 10:3-5 tells us we have the power to take thoughts of guilt captive and make them obedient to Christ. You don’t have to take what Satan is dishing out any longer.
In short, once you refuse to accept the guilt Satan is heaping on you, you’ll be free from it. It may take a little time, but if you stand firm and give these thoughts to the Lord when they come into your mind, you will triumph over them.
“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22).