Guilt

I originally wrote this for when I guest posted for the lovely Heather Boersma over at Dreaming Big.
Enjoy.

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Guilt. Oh guilt.

This is something that I struggle with on an almost daily basis. Hiding in the shadow of the ideal Proverbs 31 woman, guilt often has a way of flooding over me like a furious wave, filling me with feelings of inadequacy, unworthiness, and even depression. It's so easy for me to feel guilty for not spending enough quality time with my husband, or for those phone calls I haven't returned, or for overcooking the lasagna the other night. 

Try harder. Do it all. Look perfect, have the perfect, organized home, make the perfect meal. Oh, and let's not forget all of those things in our past we aren't too proud of. They often have a way of creeping back into our memory to remind and flood us with feelings of shame all over again.

 "We tend to drag up our old sins, that we tend to live under a vague sense of guilt…we are not nearly as vigorous in appropriating God’s forgiveness as He is in extending it. Consequently, instead of living in the sunshine of God’s forgiveness through Christ, we tend to live under an overcast sky of guilt most of the time." - Jerry Bridges

So is guilt from God? No. This kind of guilt is not. This kind of unattainable perfection or the remembrance of things already forgiven by our Maker are only the enemy's way of steering us away from basking in the beauty of redemption. It's not of God.

"Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies." Philippians 4:8 (The MSG)

So is guilt just that? Simply a destructive lie?
I think that guilt can also be a true, legit feeling.
If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, this is also called the Holy Spirit... that small, inward nudging that convicts you if you have indeed done something wrong.

"Perhaps the reason you feel guilty is because you are guilty.  The answer to your guilt problem is not rationalization or self-justification, but forgiveness.  The price of forgiveness is repentance.  Without it there is no forgiveness and no relief from the reality of guilt." -R.C. Sproul 

 Guilt is the Holy Spirit's "red light." 

It is our sign to examine our hearts, come clean, and find true repentance in God, with others, with our souls. However, when guilt persists for longer than it should, it also can provide the green light for the enemy's lies and can hinder our own spiritual growth. 

As women, we are so hard on ourselves. Let's embrace our own individual beauty, stop comparing ourselves to one another, and just find the beauty in our own unique character. Flaws, imperfections, and all.  If we're guilty, if we have sinned-- let's deal with it. And leave it at that, finding true beauty in God's redeeming promises.

Do you struggle with guilt?