Fighting Guilt and Fighting Sin

There are days when the weight of my sin is overwhelming. Do you ever have days like that? Simple prayers and Scripture verses expose the great wickedness in my heart that wants to come out (and unfortunately, often does). In those moments, I don’t even want to show my face to people for fear of exposure—or worse, sinning against them. It is then that I wonder, “Can I really change? Is it really possible?”

My sins are always before me. They scream condemnation into my face. “Feel the depths of your faults and failures,” they say. “You are as terrible as you think.”

And they are right.

More right than they know.

But the story doesn’t end there for me. My sins no longer condemn me. They can scream, but they cannot damn. Jesus paid it all.

I need this reminder. Daily. Without it, I am a lost cause. But I also need to make war, daily. Those sins that are screaming at me need to be crucified. They need to be killed. While they are paid for, they still linger around seeking to devour, destroy, and kill.

You see, I can’t stay here in the overwhelming part of my sins. The truth is they are overwhelming. That’s a fact. But if I let them, they will overwhelm me completely. Repentance is needed to get me out. And it should take me somewhere—back in history.

Two thousand and some years ago Jesus died for these sins. And this is where I must live to find true freedom from the shame and guilt that seeks to destroy me. These sins were paid for and I don’t need to try to atone for them anymore.

My sins are real. But so is the Cross. Jesus paid it all. I must get there quickly when despair is quick to overtake.

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”—Psalm 51:7