Testament Tuesday – Goodness & Guilt

Have you ever felt guilty when something good happens in your life? Even if it’s something you’ve waited and prayed for and it’s finally happening and yet you still feel guilty? I think at one time or another we’ve all felt this way. It’s natural to sometimes let the goodness in our lives be paired with guilt. Guilt that we have what others don’t. Guilt that our circumstances have worked out, while theirs haven’t.

I’ve been feeling this guilt lately. Guilt that my blessings aren’t fully deserved if someone else doesn’t get theirs too. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that God answered my prayers with a yes, and someone else’s very same prayers with a no. What are we supposed to do when it seems like everything is going right for us and someone else seems to have the opposite happening? It’s something we don’t often talk about because it makes us uncomfortable doesn’t it? It’s so much easier to talk about things when they’re not going our way, when we’re getting the raw end of the deal than when things seem to be going great.

I feel this way more times that I probably should and I’m sure you do too. But God has something to tell us when we feel guilty for the blessings He has given us.

James 1:17,

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

We have got to stop feeling guilty for what we’ve been given. Trust me this is SO much easier said than done but we have to. When we feel guilty for the blessings God gives us we are letting the enemy steal our joy. When we do this we are playing right into the enemy’s hands and selling ourselves short of all God is offering.

We need to give praise for our blessings, not belittle them with guilt. Our praise is where God dwells, and when we let our guilt drown out our praise we take God out of them.

Don’t you think God deserves all the praise? Even if things are a no for you right now? Doesn’t God deserve even more specific praise if things are going in your favor? I think so.

Of course the enemy wants us to sulk and feel guilty for the goodness God is showering over us. He wants us to forget to thank God and praise Him for the good works He has done. How much sense does it make to have something that you’ve always wanted but feel bad for that thing just because someone else doesn’t have it and therefore you don’t enjoy it?? It makes no sense!

Your gift might be different than someone else’s. But don’t spend your time feeling guilty over your gift, and don’t waste it by comparing it to others! Whatever is good and perfect in your life is a gift from God, be grateful for it, celebrate and enjoy it!

I’m not going to let the enemy make me feel guilty for all the things I’ve been blessed with and neither should you. No more guilt in the goodness we receive!