Sometime last year I read a book titled “The Shack” written by William P. Young and from reading this book I saw and experienced God in a different way.

In a nutshell, the book revolves around the story of a young man named Mack,

Mack had a very interesting and sad childhood, His Dad would beat him at every slight turn, his father was an alcoholic and he suffered great abuse in his hands of his.

Mack eventually killed his dad poisoning his drinks.

Mack later grew up to become a grown man with his own family a complete opposite of who his father was, an amazing wife and three lovely children whom he adores.

But one fateful weekend will change their lives forever…….

He took his children on a camping weekend in the woods, with other members of the community.

The morning of the second day, something very tragic happened, his little girl Missy was abducted and killed. Leaving that camp that day, he took guilt with him and this caused him to slip into depression, questioning everything about his life and what he knew about God.

Why am I sharing this story, I shared this story because I would like to share some of the lessons I learned from it about dealing with guilt.

Months after Missy died, Mack felt too guilty and responsible for her death blaming himself, thinking his past has come back to haunt him. He told himself that this happened to him because he killed his Dad and yes His little girl has to pay for his sins. But Abba took him on a journey of healing.

Guilt is a powerful emotion which the devil uses to back us into a corner by allowing us to feel that whatever evil or bad that happens to us is as a result of something that we have done, and it eats and cuts so deep that it hinders us from actually seeing the good in the bad

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I have highlighted a few things that guilt brings to the table, let me warn you they are not pretty things.

Guilt makes you lose your sleep

Guilt leaves you vulnerable to further abuse

Guilt makes you feel worthless

Guilt will mess up your mind

Guilt eats up your joy

Guilt eats up your peace

If you are reading this and dealing with guilt, does this sound familiar???

As a survivor, Every time, you start to feel that negative emotion called GUILT. I want you to remember these few points.

Bad things happen not because of what you have done, but because it’s the natural course of life. So long as there are people who don’t live according to the divine will of the Almighty, evil will continue to exist, although he might not stop it from happening, he is in the middle of every of your mess working it all together for your good. Abba never repays evil with evil. Sin in itself is its own punishment.

Guilt if left unresolved leads to constant pain and this have a way of making you lose sight of what you are originally created for. The devil’s sole aim is to deter you from achieving your purpose hence he will throw stumbling blocks in your way, these stumbling blocks can come in any form, one of those blocks can come in form of guilt, when you give in to this emotion, then the devil is winning, Rather let Abba win by letting him deal with your guilt HIS way.

Every time you revisit, why or what you could have done differently, you are nailing him to the cross, and He is hurting, he hurts when you hurt.

Stop revisiting your past, leave it where it belongs, move forward, he has a greater plan for the future, stay with him, walk that journey with him, Trust him to do right by you.

Allow Abba to help you through it, he is always there to help, He is always there to hold your hands. You are not being punished for anything. Abba doesn’t hold grudges. He has wiped your slate clean

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes, we are healed

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He has paid the heavy price, hand him the reins, let him ride the horse, The Heart of the father is big and deep, rest in it, Let him deal with your guilt his way.

Let me leave you with the lyrics to a song by Jonathan Mcreynolds.

May your struggles keep you near the cross

May your troubles show that you need God

May your battles end the way they should

May your bad days prove that God is good

May your whole life prove that God is good.

Have a guilt-free week.

Lots of love

IfeOluwa