Get Rid of GUILT Psalm 32

Ogden Nash once wrote this little couplet:

There’s only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball,
And that is to have either a clear conscience or none at all.

If you would do a GOOGLE search for the word GUILT, the first articles and links that you will find are about Jerry Sandusky being found guilty of child molestation from Penn State University.

The fact is that Mr. Sandusky was found guilty because he is guilty. However, will he feel the guilt of his crimes? Some folks do a great job of getting rid of guilt by covering their lives in deceit. 

If Mr. Sandusky does feel the shame and pain of guilt, what can he do about that? 

Here is what our friend, Mr. Wikipedia says about guilt: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt

King David was a man in the Bible that was guilty of some hellish sins. David was brought to the place that he needed relief from his sins and the only way to find this relief was to come to God and confess his faults and actions. Here is the account of David getting rid of guilt in the 32nd Psalm:

1 Oh, what joy for those

    whose disobedience is forgiven,

    whose sin is put out of sight!

2 Yes, what joy for those

    whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,

    whose lives are lived in complete honesty!

3 When I refused to confess my sin,

    my body wasted away,

    and I groaned all day long.

4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.

    My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.  

5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you

    and stopped trying to hide my guilt.

6 I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”

    And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.

At United on Sunday we discussed that fact that all of us have felt guilt and some are even controlled by it. We are filled with guilt by at least two different ways:

1. Unconfessed sin (v 3...when I refused to confess my sins)

2. Not accepting God's forgiveness (v6...And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone!)

I love the story about the man that sent the letter to the IRS saying: "After sending in my tax form, I couldn't sleep because of the guilt of putting false information on my return. Here is $150 and if I still can't sleep I will send the rest!"

I guess the entire goal of the day was to let each of us have an opportunity to get rid of guilt by either confessing our sins to God or by accepting the forgiveness that God has already given us. 

Here is one last nugget concerning guilt and forgiveness: 

"Satan will ACCUSE us of sins that God has already forgiven us of-The Holy Spirit will CONVICT us of sins that we have yet to confess to God."

I really believe that God wants each of us to look ourselves in the eyes today and see freedom through the forgiveness that Jesus Christ gives us!!