Depression and Guilt in a Christian’s Life

We are born with it….we cannot escape it……it is part of our very nature and we can never remove it….Guilt is ours by default as the children of Adam and in his Fall we all fell with him.  Depression and guilt often seem to walk hand in hand in the course of this life…but should they?  Should born again believers be burdened through past failures?

Does it have to be this way?

Depression and Guilt in our lives

We have all failed.  We have failed ourselves, our families, our friends, and the God of Heaven and in doing so we have accumulated a debt.  This debt is one that we can never pay….the load is to heavy.  The guilt that we so often wear around is a burden to hard to bear and crushes both body and spirit.  How do we know that we are guilty?  How do we know that sin  and the subsequent depression and guilt are a part of our lives?  Scripture has revealed it to us.

Romans 3:10-12

10 as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;

11 no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good, not even one

and….

Psalm 51:5

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

This guilt is common to all men…everywhere….at all time.  The Load is heavy isn’t it?  Does the shame wear on you?  Do you find it difficult to even function….muddling your way through life with no purpose?  Are you attempting to bear a load that you cannot?  Guilt and depression were never meant for those who have been saved by the Grace of God.

Godly sorrow guilt and shame

2 Corinthians 7:10

English Standard Version (ESV)

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

The sorrow that God uses is productive…not destructive.  The shame that this world will place upon you will only lead to death and not to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  If the grief you are experiencing is leading your further into the darkness, further into the never-ending night, and further away from the True Light then it is not from Him.  Depression and guilt that is seemingly going to destroy you with no hope showing through is not Godly sorrow and will not lead to salvation.

We all need to pray that the sorrow we feel over our sins is not undue guilt…but that it is His loving discipline that will drive us to our knees in repentance and faith.  We need to seek Him so that the grief we experience will produce Godly fruit that does not destroy but will lift up and edify.  We need to seek Him.

There is no condemnation if He KNows us

Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

If you are in Christ there is no condemnation.  Period.  You are His child and you can rest assured that He has never lost one that the Father has given Him ( John 17:12, 18:9 ).  The world may try to condemn us, our so-called friends may chastise us, and our own conscience may unjustly injure us…but ulitmately all that matters is what HE thinks of us and declares us to be.  We are members of His House, part of His Family, Citizens of Heaven, and nothing this side of His throne can change that…..and He has promised not to change His mind regarding a sinner saved by Grace.

Depression and guilt, as they come from the world, have no place in the Christian’s life…not now and not ever.  This does not mean that we will never feel them…that the darkness will never close in…..or that we will never feel injured beyond hope.  I have…..still very often do…. but this in no way changes our standing before God.  Our circumstances will change….moods and feeling will come and go….friends and friendships will pass….but He will not, and I thank Him for His faithfulness even when I fail to  be.

Only His Children Are Eternally free from Shame and Sorrow

Are you His child?  Have you repented and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ?  Have you been born again into the family of God.  Depression and guilt are part and parcel of the human experience and they can only be fully and finally removed by a work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a sinner.

Romans 10:9-10

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

You are not strong enough, there is not enough steps in any program, and without the newness of life flowing from faith in Jesus and being justified in Him, without the forgiveness of your sins, there will never be lasting peace.  This depression and guilt will be carried with you into Eternity and the final judgment…..you will never be free from the them… unless the Son sets you free.

Seek Him while He may be found and do not harden your heart with the deceitfulness of sin, but pray that God will grant you repentance unto salvation and Eternal life.

God bless and Keep the faith.

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