The weight of guilt and shame is unbelievably heavy. Sin weighs us down and nothing we can do can take that weight off of us. How do we face our guilt and shame?
“Now He had to go through Samaria. So He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as He was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give Me a drink?’ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to Him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)” John 4:4-9 (NIV)
The Samaritan woman Jesus met in John 4 was weighed down by sin. She was weighed down by her five ex-husbands and the new man she was living with.
“He told her, ‘Go, call your husband and come back.’ ‘I have no husband,’ she replied.Jesus said to her, ‘You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true’.” John 4:16-18 (NIV)
Those failed relationships made her an outcast who avoids the stares, the critical words, the looks by going to the well for water when no one else would likely be
there.
Jesus met this woman where she was. Using the well water as a picture, Jesus offered her a new life, and love that would change her forever. After meeting Jesus, the
Samaritan woman was so changed that she ran into town and told everyone about her encounter with Jesus.
What is weighing you down today? Confess it to Jesus. He brings forgiveness, truth and a new life.
What Is Bad Guilt And Healthy Guilt?
What does guilt feel like? We know this feeling. Guilt is that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach when you see the flashing lights in the rearview mirror and you know
you can’t talk your way out because you were going 20 mph over. You’re guilty. Guilt—when a coworker rats you out because you cut a corner. Guilt—when you cause your
child to cry because you overreacted at them in anger. Guilt is when you broke another promise to your spouse, you said: I’ll never do it again but you did. Guilt—it’s an
uncomfortable word, and feeling. But we also need to realize that some guilt is healthy.
Healthy guilt, or guilt from God’s viewpoint, should work in our lives like the check engine light on our car. The one we sometimes ignore. It comes on but the car seems
to be running OK. But it did come on for a reason, and you do need to pay attention to it.
Guilt in our lives that’s healthy is when God leans in and says: Hey, we’ve got some character issues to look at. Maybe in your relationships. Maybe behavior or addictions
you need to let go of. Guilt makes us aware of some issues where you and I are just simply missing the mark of God’s best for our lives. That guilt is good.
What Is Shame?
Shame? it’s a different thing altogether. One way to think of shame is that shame is guilt that has passed its expiration date. Ever opened the fridge and there’s a gallon of
milk that’s way past its expiration date? It’s not good. It’s past its expiration date. At one time it served a purpose, at one time it was good, but now it’s past its expiration
date.
Unresolved guilt, it ends up resulting in shame. What shame does is blur the line between what I did and who I am. It’s an identity issue. No good can come of shame. No
where in the Bible will you see that God wants to keep anyone pinned down in shame. Jesus wants you free from it or help you before you get to shame.
Many of us are dealing with shame. Maybe because of what you’ve done or maybe because of what has been done to you, and it might have happened a really long time
ago, but you can’t change it and you still live with the remnants of shame. It could have been abuse, it could have been a divorce, it could have been a poor choice. But Not
dealing with the past, robs us of our future—if you refuse to go back to deal with your past and your failure, you can’t move forward and be the person God wants you
to be.
How Do We Defeat Our Shame And Guilt?
Jesus can deal with our past. Guilt is feeling bad about what I’ve done.
