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The "good guilt" and the "bad guilt"?

When we hear the "guilt alarm beeping " we have to deal with guilt in a way or another, however, just like every good thing God gave us, guilt can also be perverted. Guilt can become an instrument in the devil’s hand and the evil one tries to keep you trapped inside, thinking that you are the worst person ever! I’ll let you read on to show you what I mean.

Guilt – What is it?

Feeling guilty is normal after you know you’ve done something you were not supposed to, especially after a failure. The dictionary defines the word "guilt" as a "feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime, wrong, etc., whether real or imagined."

That nagging voice inside of us that keeps beeping like a fire alarm and when it comes up too strong, we attempt to hush it up. It simply is that part of the human conscience that cries: "you have fallen from the standard, you were wrong! ". That makes us realize there is a standard inside of our being. Is it like a computer software program that automatically runs within us? Who put it there?

Anyway, guilt convicts us for actions and thoughts. It is an inborn human trait that forces us to make a distinction between right and wrong, and it shows within us that there are standards of what is good and what is worthy of guilt.

The guilt "gene" is something inside every human being. To illustrate this truth, look at people from wild tribes. They have a system within that tells them when they are wrong, even if they have never heard of such thing like "civilization".

But can the guilt feeling be perverted?

We know we are in a spiritual war that will end only when Jesus comes back again! For that reason, we have to be aware that guilt can be used by the devil and his demons too. For example, when you pray, all of a sudden, an evil thought crosses your mind and you just can’t control it! Blasphemy included! Those thoughts come over and over more intense and simply kill your prayer, as even if you hate those thoughts, you can’t stop them from coming back in your mind!

It is so painful, it has happened to me and I didn’t realize I actually was under attack. Yes, this is the spiritual war. The devil is so perverse that will make you think: "these are your thoughts, now you can’t come to God any more, He hates you, and how could you dare come close to Him with such miserable thoughts /images in your mind?"

I was so released when I came to know that Charles Spurgeon (a great evangelist) has been trough this too and he was so tortured by these thoughts that he even doubted his salvation. He relates how he just couldn’t stop this thoughts and he finally confessed this to his grandfather. His grandfather asked him:" Do you like these thoughts and take pleasure in them?" His answer was:" No! No! No! I hate them!"
Then the wise old man told Spurgeon to have nothing to do with them, as those thoughts are not his own, those are the devil’s thoughts.

Oh, if I had only known that before it happened to me! However, I saw for myself that the spiritual war is not a story…it is awfully real!

Guilt – The Remedy

There is a right and a wrong approach when dealing with guilt. Hiding it, does not work, it only comes back stronger.

Of course when we know we offended someone, the remedy is to go to that person and sincerely apologize, asking for forgiveness. This is not for the weak people! Only the strong people have the character to do this, the power to overcome their own nature. God is there to assist and will give you the strength you need, just ask for it!

On the other hand, in the spiritual war, when you come to realize the origin of your thought, simply come to Jesus, tell Him that you can’t control those thoughts and ask Him to cleanse you and free you of your burden. He will! With me, it was a process (5 months), it didn’t happened instantly but now, thank God Jesus freed me! It took a while because I simply did not take for myself what God showed me in the Bible, I said to myself it was too good to be for me. But now I see that those verses where God says He loves you are for you indeed and you have to take them as if He Himself came and saying:" I love you (your name here)"

Confessing is the first step to healing and when confessed to God, guilt is dealt with the best way! However, I saw with myself that another trap that Satan will use is that of keeping you quiet by telling you that you are the worst on Earth and there is no one else in such a hopeless situation! It is a lie! Every person has failures whether they talk about it or not! When I saw that Spurgeon himself has been trough what I have been trough, oh I was so happy he was honest enough to confess this and share it! So, find a mature Christian you can trust and confess your situation, you can pray together and God will surely heal your heart and set you free of any burden you might be carrying!

There is a good reason you have been trough this! God will use you to help others who go trough such problems as well! So keep telling God all your fears and He will surely give you a great solution! He did it with me, and so many others!

By Claudia Miclaus