Does Guilt Keep You From Feeling Forgiven?

“No matter how many times I read that I'm forgiven, I just don't feel it," Stephen said. "I know the Bible tells me God accepts me. I know it in my head, but I can't feel it in my heart."

"What have you tried to do to change that?" I asked. 

"Well, I've tried memorizing verses and focusing on how God loves me and accepts me. I just have to believe it more, I guess.”

"So you think you can't feel it because you don't believe it?"

"Well, I guess so. That's what my friends tell me. They say if I don't feel God's forgiveness, I'm not taking him at his word. It comes down to a lack of faith, I guess. I need to believe him more.”  

"Do you disbelieve him?" 

"What do you mean?”

"Well, do you have any reason to doubt God forgives you? Do you not believe it?"

"No, I believe it. He says so. I just can't feel it."

Stephen is not alone. I have talked to many people who ask God for his forgiveness, receive it, and then find they cannot feel it. They try to feel forgiven, but instead, find that, even though the Bible says they are forgiven, guilt plagues them for a long time. Sadly, they do not know what to do other than to ask God again.

Is there a “badness” from your past that’s keeping you stuck? Is there a guilt that keeps coming back to haunt you? Come join me for my workshop, Mentally Healthy Faith. Scroll down and get signed up below!