I’ve Asked God to Forgive My Sins, So Why Do I Still Feel Guilty?

Melissa HendersonBy Melissa Henderson4 Minutes

Have you sinned today? How many times? Ouch! What tough questions! We can all answer with a big “yes”. Everyone makes mistakes. Small ones and large ones. Each experience can be a learning opportunity. Making those poor choices can cause sadness and embarrassment or feelings of regret. Learning how to forgive others and how to forgive ourselves may take time and effort. You may have heard the saying, “There are no big or little sins. A sin is a sin.”

When we take those mistakes to God and ask for His forgiveness, He washes us clean from our sins. If we know He forgives, then, why are there still feelings of guilt? Why do we continue to punish ourselves and not release the sins to God?

A rushed morning, a phone that won’t stop ringing, bills waiting to be paid, laundry piled up in the clothes basket, a “to do” list that gets longer every day. Does this look familiar? Have you experienced one or more of those days?

Life can give odd situations at times and we may react in a negative or sinful way. Whether our words are spoken in harsh tones or emails typed in all capital letters followed by many exclamation points to try and make a strong message, or perhaps an action is taken that we would not have considered if the situation was different, there is always the choice to react in a positive way. Sometimes we react positively and other times, our responses are filled with sin.

However, the sinful nature may jump out first. Then, we feel awful. We know we have sinned. Feelings of guilt plague our minds.

We pray and ask God to forgive us for sinning. Perhaps we have learned through studying His Word and sharing time with Him, that God forgives us when we take our sins to Him and ask for forgiveness.

Then, why do we still feel guilty?

Our human nature makes us hold onto things sometimes. Clinging to guilty feelings when we have taken those sins to God and asked for His forgiveness, can bring heartache and stress to our bodies and minds.

When we ask for forgiveness and say we are giving our sins to God, but then, we take the worry and guilt right back, we are not believing God’s promise of forgiveness. We want to believe we are forgiven, yet we hold onto that guilt.

God loves us and forgives us. He shares the promise of His love and forgiveness throughout the Bible. Trusting Him and believing He forgives our sins releases guilt and provides the feeling of peace.

Share time with Him. Ask Him to guide you along the way. Confess your sins. He loves you.  You are forgiven by Him.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace  (Ephesians 1:7) NIV

Thank You God for loving us and forgiving our sins. Amen

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