Insight: Feelings of guilt are typically triggered when we do something wrong, or when we do something that others could perceive as wrong. Other times we feel guilt over the pain that others go through because we were not able to stop them from going through that pain. The best way to know whether the guilt we feel is destructive or constructive is to find the source of it. Once we find the source, if we did something wrong then it is up to us at that moment to make it right. Once we have made it right these feelings of guilt should leave. If they persist, then you need to ask God to take these feelings away or show you if there is anything else you have not dealt with that could still be causing these feelings. Now if the source of the guilt is destructive, meaning that we did not do anything wrong, or we feel guilt over not being able to help everyone all of the time, then we need to ask God to illuminate anything we truly need to fell guilty about and deal with them, and ask God to take any other guilty feelings away, so we can be free.
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Insight: I know how difficult it is to watch a family member suffer and in a way this is the same. The freedom from sin and the guilt that goes with it is an amazing gift. Those who have not experienced this gift first hand I believe are definitely suffering. They are drowning in the guilt of their sin and it is hard to watch. It is almost like you are throwing them a life preserver but they respond by saying they don't want it because of the brand name. This is trying and difficult, however I will try my best to give you not only some hope but some ways to stay strong. First of all I want to share some hope with you. In 1 Corinthians 7:12-14, Paul states "But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy." Therefore the one encouraging thing is that your family is sanctified through you.
Secondly, continue to pray for them. Pray specifically that God would bring other Christians into their lives. Pray that the Lord would continue to show them his love in and through you. Pray that the Lord would use you to be a blessing to them and that God would protect you from the enemy while standing in the gap for your family. Lastly, spend a lot of time alone with God, in prayer and studying the Bible. It is when we spend time alone with God that He can give us the strength to keep going even in the most difficult of circumstance. This time with God will not only strengthen you, but it will also give you a clearer picture of God's heart for your family and may even allow you to have the right words to speak at the time when your family would be ready to receive it. |
Connie BlackwoodI strive to help others by being a safe place for others to ask questions and pose issues they face. Archives
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