Freedom from Guilt

"Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord'-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin."
Psalm 32:5

The psalm above was written by David. I am confident that every one of us can relate to him. David knew what sin was. He understood the damage it could cause in a life. There were times when even David, whom God said was a "man after His own heart," failed miserably and fell into sin. His sin with Bathsheba and calculated murder of her husband is well documented in the Bible. Yet, it wasn't just the sin that David struggled with. There was a deeper issue that kept him separated from God.
    I have made it a personal mission to tell all Christians that daily confession and repentance is of paramount importance. As far as I know, there is only one thing that separates us from God. That one thing is sin. It is clear that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Nothing can separate us from the love and daily mercies of God our Father. . . except sin. We often think that if we hide it, it will go away. The problem is, it does not go away. In fact, it festers into something that can devastate our lives. The answer to the problem of sin is simple; tell Him about it! We have a promise from Him, "If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  (1 John 1:9) So the first answer to our problem with sin is to stop being quiet about it and tell God.
    The other issue David struggled with was the guilt that sin left in him. This is often the single most difficult thing for you and me to overcome. You know God has forgiven you for those past sins, but the guilt still haunts you. You may wake up at night thinking about it and cringing under the weight. Something may happen in the course of the day that triggers the thought of that old sin. It may even make you physically ill when you think about it. These things are all warning signs that you harbor the guilt of sin. From God's point of view, you have been forgiven for the sin. When you bring it up to him, his response is: "What sin?" He doesn't remember because he keeps no record of it. The guilt is OUR issue, not God's.
    Dear ones, it is with deep love for you that I can say, give up the guilt of past sin to God! The pain will be eliminated. The guilt will disappear. David said that God "forgave the guilt of my sin." What a release that must have been for him. He passed from a horrible place of literally wasting away physically and spiritually, to a new place of absolute victory and closeness to God. What he experienced, we can experience. Lingering guilt can only bring defeat and destruction, but the forgiveness of God can only bring victory!