A couple of weeks ago I published a YouTube video about guilt. If you would like to see that video click here. Guilt is simply judging ourselves wrong or giving ourselves a guilty verdict over and over again. For the righteous, it’s when we perseverate over sin, wrong decisions, or inappropriate actions towards others or even ourselves. In essence, it is not forgiving ourselves.

We also experience guilt when we are compelled or manipulated into doing things against our will or beliefs. There is a wealth of scriptures that speak to God’s desire to remove guilt from our lives (i.e., Hebrews 10:2, Psalms 103:12, Romans 8:1); however, we as citizens of the kingdom continue to carry this burden of guilt over one thing or another.

There are times that guilt is placed on us by external forces and that’s what I want to focus on today, specifically as it relates to parental relationships. Revelation 12:10-12 tells us that Satan is the accuser of the brethren. He is the one that persistently charges us with an offense so that we are found guilty in the eyes of God. So, it is important for us to know that when we or others withhold forgiveness after we have repented, apologized, or asked for forgiveness, it is no longer our responsibility to carry the guilt of the offense. Our duty is to demonstrate changed behavior, actions, or beliefs. We now have to resist the temptation to pick up and carry guilt every time we see this individual or are reminded of the offense. If we allow our minds to wander and play on this dangerous territory, we become prey for Satan.

Changed behavior is how we demonstrate that our repentance or apology is sincere. One area I have seen this external guilt occurs is between parents and children, especially when parents abandon their children and are absent during the formative years. I observe that when children become adults, they want nothing to do with the parent who abandoned them even when the parent repents and expresses a desire to have a relationship. This was my story. And many years before my father passed away, the Lord asked me to forgive my father. He asked me to get passed my hurt so that He could show my father that He can bless him with a relationship where he did not sow a relationship. My heavenly Father wanted to show my earthly father what mercy looked like. Of course, I tried to use that very scripture about sowing and reaping to argue my case as to why I should not have to have a relationship with my father. God reminded me that His ultimate goal was to win my father’s soul and He needed to use me to draw my father back to Him.

The years leading to my father’s death were such a blessing. In fact, I wrote and published a song for Easter one year and had the privilege of singing it at church with my father in attendance. The song spoke of how we were not made to carry guilt and that God desired to remove the guilt we carry. My father said that it really blessed him and I believe God orchestrated that whole event. As the years past, we spent most holidays together at my home. He loved having all of his children around him. It gave him a sense of accomplishment to know that he was rebuilding something that he’d torn down with his own hands.

Thankfully, my father experienced forgiveness and was released from the guilt of the past. Can you imagine the guilt I would be feeling today if I had not been obedient; if I had not considered less about the hurt I experienced so that the Father could address hidden hurts my earthly father was experiencing. God wanted to free my father from the accuser’s torment. If we could see in the spirit realm what takes place when we bind the shackles of guilt around someone, our hearts would bend toward mercy.

So, to any parent who carries guilt over yesteryear or even yesterday, if you have repented or asked for forgiveness, know that God has forgiven you. I implore you to release yourself from that guilty verdict. And, to any child who renders judgment and a guilty verdict over your parents, I pray you gain a spiritual understanding of your actions and the consequences you yourself will face. You are entering dangerous territory that you cannot see nor do you understand. God is not pleased nor is it His will for us to enslave others with guilt.

If there is enmity in your house, I pray that God will remove the burden of guilt, cancel satanic contracts and that He would restore relationships.

If you missed the post on Mother’s Day, click the link below. 

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Highlights from Today’s Episode:

• Guilt is not forgiving ourselves of wrongdoing
• When we withhold forgiveness of ourselves or others, we pronounce a guilty verdict over and over again
• God desires us to live guilt-free

Resources:

• Revelations 12:10-12
• Romans 8:1

Talk Back:

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