You Don’t Have to Live with Guilt
By Rick Warren
“A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.” Proverbs 28:13 (TLB)
God is always ready to give you another chance. That’s a foundational piece of Christianity. We’ve all been irresponsible. We’ve all screwed up. The Bible tells us, “Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 NLT).
You’re not meant to go through life with a guilt trip about all the ways you’ve been irresponsible. Guilt destroys your confidence, damages your relationships, keeps you stuck in the past, and even hurts your health. I read a report a few years back that said 70 percent of people in the hospital could leave if they knew how to resolve their guilt.
God wants far better for your life than that. You don’t want to live with guilt. And here’s an important truth to always hang on to: You don’t have to.
Instead, God wants you to live with a sense of promise and hope. He can even bring good out of the foolish decisions that you’ve made if you’ll give those failures to him.
How do you do that?
Admit to God you’ve made a mistake. It doesn’t surprise him. And it won’t change his perception of you. When you take this step, here’s what you can expect from him:
God forgives instantly. The very moment you admit your sin to God, he forgives you.
God forgives freely. You don’t need to earn it, and you’ll never deserve it.
God forgives completely. He wipes your sin absolutely clean.
The Bible promises that a “man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance” (Proverbs 28:13 TLB).
If you’re mired in guilt and shame, then you’ll likely perpetuate whatever problem you have. You’ll tell yourself that you blew it, so you’re bad. Since you’re bad, you believe you’ll blow it again. It’s a nasty cycle we often can’t seem to escape from—at least not on our own.
You need a power beyond yourself. You need a Savior! You need to let go of your guilt and live in the freedom of God’s forgiveness.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Experience More of God’s Presence in 2025!
Prayer has the power to transform your year and that’s why we hope you’ll request a copy of the brand-new Daily Hope Prayer Journal!
This year’s theme, Resting in the Great I Am, will help you experience more of God’s presence in the year ahead as you learn to pray with greater passion and purpose.
Request your Daily Hope Prayer Journal: Resting in the Great I Am when you give below, knowing your gift will be DOUBLED by the $100,000 Match to help reach more people with the hope of Jesus in 2025.
Thank you!
*All gifts will be doubled up to the full amount of the grant. Thank you for your generous support!
*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of materials you received from Daily Hope.
This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.
