Many of us can be prone to feelings of guilt. I know that for me it is very easy for me to feel responsible for things over which I have no control, and to feel guilty for decisions that I made in the past. We may tend to see guilt as an effective motivator, allowing us to constantly be assessing what we have done and motivating us to be sufficiently sorrowful for our past actions. We may even see guilt as something that the Lord uses to inflict punishment on us for how we acted or thought. We may see guilt as a form of conviction.
However, I have recently come to the realization that there is a distinct difference between guilt and conviction. The Lord does not use guilt to accomplish His purposes, for guilt is focused on the past, and it stays there, not allowing us to look ahead. Conviction, on the other hand, is focused on the future. Conviction allows us to ask and answer the question, "So what do I do about it?" This is the opposite of guilt, which asks, "How could you do that?"
Since we know that Satan is the Great Accuser, and that he would rather have us focus on our past than on our future, know that if thinking about past mistakes does not cause us to focus on the future, then it is not from the Lord. Our God is a forward-thinking God, and He does not intend for us to spend our time and energy trying to be sufficiently penitent for our past mistakes. He calls us out of our past mistakes and onto a new path. One that is wiser and able to more effectively glorify Him.
Don't confuse guilt for conviction, and don't allow Satan to hold you to your past.
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