In week two of Switch we talked about no matter how much or little faith you have, we all experience things in life that make it difficult to have faith in God. One of those things is guilt. Because sometimes we do things or make decisions that we can’t take back.

A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said…..And he went outside and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:56-57 & 62 (NIV)

“For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.” Luke 21:15  (NIV)

Switch – Week 1

As Christians, we’re all striving to look at little more like Jesus. We’re trying to model our lives after the example He set for us—the way He lived, the way He loved, the way He served. But as human beings, we know that no matter what one thing is true: we’re going to fail. No matter how good our intentions are, no matter how much we want to do what’s right, from time to time we’re going to fall short. And that’s when guilt shows up.

You know the feeling we’re talking about, right? That knot in the pit of your stomach when you know you’ve gone off course. The weight that sits on your shoulders when you know you’ve said or done something you shouldn’t have. That’s guilt. And, if we let it, it has the power to consume us.

But the good news here is that it doesn’t have to. Because of Jesus, guilt is not the end of our story. In fact, thanks to Jesus, guilt doesn’t even have a place in our story. He bore the weight of all guilt and shame for us on the cross, ensuring that guilt would have no longer have power in the lives of His followers. Check out how the Bible puts it:

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:22 NIV)

If we are coming to God with a sincere heart, then guilt has no place in our lives. If we’re resting assured that our faith brings us salvation, then guilt can’t consume us. If we’re in Christ, our consciences don’t have to be guilty. Isn’t that so freeing? Is there something in your life that’s causing you to feel guilt? Take it before God and ask Him to take the weight from you so that you can walk forward in freedom.