Innumerable evils

 

Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.

For innumerable evils have surrounded me;

My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;

They are more than the hairs of my head;

Therefore my heart fails me.

Psalm 40:11b-12 NKJV

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are carrying around guilt and shame, especially for those who are troubled with the past and can't let go, even though our Father has forgiven them. Pray that they recognize that Jesus died for all of their sins, that those sins are now wiped away and they are now a new being in His eyes.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #guilt #shame #accusation #Satan #depression #anxiety #empathy #blessing

Unrepented sin

I read about unrepented sin somewhere and realized that maybe there was something in my past that I hadn't repented of or confessed to the Lord, and maybe I was feeling guilt from that and thinking it was for something else. So, I prayed for God to show me my unrepented sin and a few things surfaced.
     This is the point where I would normally share the things that God revealed to me, but I've decided not to. After talking to a friend, she reiterated to me that the past is in the past and it's time to move forward. Not that I won't continue to share my past here, it's just some things are best left alone, or kept between me and Him.
     I've blocked certain things from my memory in order to guard my heart, and maybe that's an act of letting go, in some respect, but some events are just pushed down deep inside of us, unresolved. Those are the things that are maybe preying on our self consciences, that are resurfacing as an underlying feeling of guilt and shame. Ask God to show you those things, or better yet, ask Him to just take those from you. God loves you more than you will ever be able to comprehend. He doesn't want us living a life of guilt and shame. Pray for help. Praise Him for His love and grace.

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,

And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones grew old

Through my groaning all the day long.

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my iniquity I have not hidden.

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You

In a time when You may be found;

Surely in a flood of great waters

They shall not come near him.

Psalm 32:1-6 NKJV

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are carrying around guilt and shame, especially for those who are troubled with the past and can't let go, even though our Father has forgiven them. Pray that they recognize that Jesus died for all of their sins, that those sins are now wiped away and they are now a new being in His eyes.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #guilt #shame #accusation #Satan #depression #anxiety #empathy #blessing

The blessing

 

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

Romans 8:1

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are carrying around guilt and shame, especially for those who are troubled with the past and can't let go, even though our Father has forgiven them. Pray that they recognize that Jesus died for all of their sins, that those sins are now wiped away and they are now a new being in His eyes.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #guilt #shame #accusation #Satan #depression #anxiety #empathy #blessing

Learned guilt

 

You may have "learned" guilt as a child. I'm not talking about normal guilt, what you feel when you do something wrong, but rather a pang of guilt brought about by taking on the burdens of the world. 

     Case in point, my mom. Her latest guilt is for getting the covid vaccine. The first day that you could sign up began at 8:30. At 8:29 she sat poised at her phone with her list of medical facilities to call and within a few minutes had her first appointment. Ever since then, she's been anxiously waiting for everyone she knows to get their shot. She makes sure when the next group is eligible that everyone who she knows who's in that group knows to sign up. I love her for that, but I also worry that she stresses about it.

     I've learned this type of guilt. Maybe it's helped to humble me but maybe it's burdened me with anxiety and depression. I try to give all of my concerns to God and so I also have to trust Him with caring for everyone else. Why am I blessed with this or that and my friend isn't? I don't know, and I don't need to know. It's all up to Him and it's not for me to question.

     I guess maybe there could be a fine line between guilt in that respect and empathy? My counselor has told me time and time again that I'm so empathetic that it is a major contributor to my anxiety and depression; which is another reason I practice giving it all up to God. He is sovereign over all things. If guilt over things that I cannot control or even have a hand in are a burden, then that guilt is from the Accuser and is not of God.

     Let love consume you, not guilt.

 

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for those who are carrying around guilt and shame, especially for those who are troubled with the past and can't let go, even though our Father has forgiven them. Pray that they recognize that Jesus died for all of their sins, that those sins are now wiped away and they are now a new being in His eyes.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #guilt #shame #accusation #Satan #depression #anxiety #empathy

The real enemy

It never fails that when I start to try to improve myself to be a better image-bearer for Christ that the real enemy comes after me with a vengeance. He tries to distract me from my purpose with either something shiny (like new material possessions) or with insignificant but completely frustrating trials. This week he used both tactics. That's how I know I'm on the right path, though. For him to put so much effort in me, I feel like I'm leveling up, so to speak, in my ambition to become the person Christ wants me to be. I get goosebumps thinking about it!
     How's your week in prayer going so far? I can tell a real difference at work. With me changing my attitude, and praying for both of us, and trying to find likable aspects in the other person, we have been getting along better, even talking a little bit and it's just been an amazing transformation. I pray that you are seeing changes in your own life. The power of prayer is just so amazing! I honestly cannot understand why everyone doesn't pray.
     I found the above image on Pixabay; it was created by Joan Cabras. I know I give credit on the photo's properties but feel like it needs to be included in the body of text here, also because this took some thought. I've said this before, but it continues to amaze me: the outcry for tolerance in this country is almost deafening, yet those same people spread hate and shame others, and are extremely judgmental. They're nearly impossible to deal with because they talk out of both sides of their mouths. So, even though it isn't January 1st (we can make resolutions at any time of the year after all), I thought we could meditate on these things in our pursuit of loving everyone.
1. Delete hate
2. Practice tolerance
3. Demand wisdom
4. Remember compassion/empathy
5. Replace fear with love

Beloved, let us love one another, 

for love is from God, 

and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

1 John 4:7 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for guidance, strength, wisdom, and courage for each of us to love everyone as Jesus commands us.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe
Instagram @archadia27
Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power