Farewell to the Guilt Trips

We can become tragically lost in all that we've been.  And said.  And done. 

Constantly looking over our shoulder at our junk strewn behind us like dead carcasses along a desert path, we dwell with our sad litany of screw ups, sins, and mistakes.  And left untended, their ugly stench ends up owning us, possessing us, and shaping our view of ourselves. 

Instead of being convicted by the Spirit and making the choice to ask for forgiveness, doing a 180 and moving ahead, we can become achingly self-absorbed in our failures, slowly but surely defining ourselves by how 'bad' we are. 

These lies abound, and take on whatever form pushes your buttons.  The old tapes relentlessly play in heart and mind, the enemy of our souls using them to beat us up and send us on guilt trips that never end, that lead nowhere, that leave us in a pile on the corner.  'You are such a loser,' he hisses in the ugliest of tones.  'God will never use you.  You're never enough, you're too much, you're a mistake, a disaster.'  On and on he goes and we become paralyzed, allowing the horrific burden of guilt and shame to define us.

It's high time we call his whispers what they are. 

Lies. 

You know you're yearning to abandon those worn out tapes that do nothing but mar the beauty of who you are in Jesus.  John 10:10 tells us that the enemy is a destroyer, a killer, a thief stealing what is not his to own.

Your soul.  

The truth is that the Holy Spirit has only our best interests in mind.  He clearly convicts us of specific sin, guides us into all truth, and gently, lovingly restores us to a richer life of freedom, joy, and effective service.

Like Jesus did for Peter.

He longs for us to be defined not by endless recitals of failure, but by the fruit of Himself - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control {Galatians 5:22-23}. 

This is the time, this is the place to say adios to the incessant guilt trips, and leave the saga of our burdensome shame behind us.  And claim who we are in Christ, moving on to be who He has designed us to be.

Truth be told, we've wasted enough time looking in the rear view mirror and wallowing in the pain of it all ...