How many have such guilt in their lives that they end up depressed, fearful, living constantly with anxiety? There is little joy or peace in their lives. In fact, the result of past mistakes in many people may cause serious health problems. Having sinned or made a major mistake can cause an individual to become so scarred that their previous behavior and the resulting guilt seems to never be forgotten. There may be a time when they have reached bottom and feel there is no hope.

To once again have peace in your life you must believe that God’s grace will forgive you. You can control the quality of life you want to live. Or, you can let your problems control you. You are totally responsible for your reaction regardless what occurs in your life. You can be the victor or the victim. God tells many, many times that He wants what is best for us and that is a rich and satisfying life. So allow the Holy Spirit to make it happen. Christ wants you to be free and at peace.

The more I have read and studied the Bible the more optimistic I have become. Some will tell me it could be because of my temperament that I am positive. Because there are some who are perfectionists that never seem to be positive. Nothing ever seems to be perfect enough for them. Many see the future as being rosy and others see it as being doom and gloom. Let me address the following to those who feel things are just not going well. You don’t sense peace and satisfaction in your life. Life just doesn’t seem to have purpose and direction for you. There are just too many things that are not right in your life and everything seems to be routine and boring. You may have few goals or dreams. You may feel lonely or rejected. Nothing really seems to be satisfying. At least you are not living that full, prosperous and peaceful life. What is causing these negative feelings?

Most normal people have to deal with guilt in their lives. Guilt is an emotion and can be one of the most damaging emotions we can have. The greater our guilt the more harmful it can be to our health, relationships with others and our daily performance. Guilt can impair any positive thoughts and develop in one’s self, a very low self-esteem. How could I have done certain things?

Guilt does not necessarily result from something bad we have done, but it can. It may be from failing to meet expectations we or others have placed on us. It may be a result of a poor family relationship or a misunderstanding in which we blame ourselves. Blaming ourselves takes on guilt. Guilt, not controlled, can develop into the belief that we do not deserve the better things in life and that may result in establishing a low self-esteem into the future.

Here are some rules that should help overcome guilt:

YOU MUST FEEL GOD HAS FORGIVEN YOU. The Holy Spirit and Scripture teach us that God loves us, will guide us and give us a new mind-set that allows us to deal with guilt and low self-esteem. As a believer and child of God who realize we were created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, we should develop a positive pride, confidence in ourselves and a great self-image. It may not be easy to accept this concept because Satan uses guilt to stifle us from reaching our full-potential. Therefore, we must be careful to whom we listen. If you keep thinking you cannot be changed to what God meant you to be, you are listening to the wrong voice. Much of it boils down to how much faith do you have? Do you believe God created you or anyone else to be a failure rather than to be successful and prosper? But that is not the devil’s plan. It is to deceive us, degrade us, distress us and destroy us. He would like nothing better than to defeat you through guilt and past sins. You have a choice as to who you listen and who you want to be.

WE MUST FORGIVE OURSELVES. God knows how important it is to overcome guilt in a person’s life. God, through Jesus Christ, made it possible that all past sins and guilt can be forgiven. Any person who accepts Christ as their Savior and accepts the promises of God can become a new person as Scripture states. One, speaking from experience, a person can become a new person and the old can be erased. It may not happen overnight but it occurs as soon as a person understands that God’s Spirit comes to live within them and through a process, continually changes them if they will allow Him to do so. We must recognize that God put His Spirit into our lives so that we might deal with guilt. Once we understand God’s purpose in giving us His Spirit we then can release our guilt for the Holy Spirit to help us deal with it.

We must stop continually beating ourselves up over past mistakes. God does not want that and He sent His Son to tell us that. We must trust that God loves us as we are. He gives us His Spirit so we can love ourselves and when we do that, we feel forgiven and peace overcomes all guilt.