I read a story of a young boy who was being terrorized by a dog. Not a German Shepherd or Pit Bull… but a Chihuahua. The dog’s name? Godzilla.
He would run around the house and the dog would follow him. The boy played and the dog stared. In this little boy’s mind, Godzilla was stalking him…waiting for his moment to pounce. While we know the dog just wanted to play… to this boy… the fear was real and unrelenting. He was convinced that he was being hunted by a beast that wanted to hurt him.
Guilt is a lot like that dog.
Something we’ve done, said, or thought is sitting in wait. But our guilt is no tiny chihuahua... it’s bark is much larger... and more menacing... It’s pinned us in a corner and made us doubt the size of our God. It has chased us through counseling, good advice, and numerous readings of scripture. It torments our dreams and drops in every now and then throughout our day to remind us that we shouldn’t feel good about ourselves.
You know what you did.
You know who you were.
You can’t overcome it. You won’t change.
And just when it seems like we get away... it sniffs us out again. The chase continues.
We’re tired of running.
So how do we handle that overwhelming feeling of guilt? We invite another big dog into the hunt... worry. Guilt and worry... both crushing emotions in their own right. Together they’re simply terrifying. They’ve been known to cause sleepless nights, hopelessness, and an overwhelming dependence on our own strength.
So why do we do it? Why do we allow what we did to define what we’re becoming? Why is guilt so powerful?
We don’t believe this verse.
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” Romans 8:1-2 (NLT)
If you are in relationship with Jesus... and He is your Lord and Savior... there is nobody holding your past over your head except you. Scripture tells us that when we confess our sin... when we tell God what we’ve done... He sends it away forever. Forgotten and over. That is so hard for our minds to comprehend... that something that once defined us is now voided? Something that once paralyzed us with worry and fear was one confession away from the feeling of freedom?
We don’t have to fully understand it for it to be true. God’s thoughts are different than our own (Isaiah 55:8). He loves us unconditionally, wholly, and without reservation. When we ask for freedom from the chains on our thought life, Jesus gives us the keys of confession to unlock them. Today’s the day to breathe without burden... shed the shackles of the past... and leave the guilt where it belongs... with the old you.
Those dogs... guilt and worry... they’ll stop chasing you with one simple command.
“Be still...”
God said it to your heart in Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God!”
Today can be the day you stop running and be still. Guilt-free. Burden-lifted. Heart deep in love with God again.
I came across a paragraph by an 85 year old woman that I think sums it up best. She wrote,
"If you live to be 75 years old you will live over 657,000 hours. Did you know that? That’s almost 2/3rds of a million hours that you’re going to live. That’s too much to be anxious about all the time. So don’t worry. God, if I had my life to live over, I would relax & ramble around and be sillier than I had been on this trip. I would take fewer things so seriously and I would take more chances. I would take more trips and I would climb more mountains & swim more rivers.
"I would eat more ice cream and less prunes. I would perhaps have some actual troubles but I’m sure I would have fewer imaginary ones. You see, I’m one of those people who have lived sensibly & safely, hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I have had my moments. And if I had it all to do over again I would have more of them. Just moments one after another instead of living so many years in a big chair, acting like all those persons who never go anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat, or a parachute.
If I had it to do over again I would worry less. I would laugh more, & I would pick a lot more daisies."
"I would eat more ice cream and less prunes. I would perhaps have some actual troubles but I’m sure I would have fewer imaginary ones. You see, I’m one of those people who have lived sensibly & safely, hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I have had my moments. And if I had it all to do over again I would have more of them. Just moments one after another instead of living so many years in a big chair, acting like all those persons who never go anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat, or a parachute.
If I had it to do over again I would worry less. I would laugh more, & I would pick a lot more daisies."
Good insight from a burdened life. Your life can be different. The last paragraph of your story doesn’t have to say.... “If I had my life to live over...” Shedding the guilt and worry, you will have lived it to it’s fullest without the weight of “what if.”
Make today the day that you begin to release your guilt and worry through confession... start enjoying freedom... and live the long and purposeful life you were created to. I’ll be praying for you as you do.
