Romans 8:1 tells us that there is no condemnation in Christ, yet we continue to condemn ourselves. We feel the heavy weight of guilt. And that makes the next enemy to fight on the battlefield someone we never thought we would war against – ourselves.

I have found that perfect love not only casts out fear (1 John 4:18), but it washes away guilt. Like ocean waves pounding the shore, His love overtakes us and slowly cleanses us from the dirt that has eroded our souls. Condemnation and guilt make us feel filthier than almost anything else can.

If you don’t allow Christ to rid you of your guilt, you will bury yourself with it. (Tweet that)

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,
how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

–  Romans 8:31-35 (NKJV)

I felt guilty because my daughter died from a cord accident and I didn’t suspect that anything was wrong.

The Thursday before she actually ceased living inside me, I felt a strange, almost harsh, movement inside me. It didn’t feel normal, but it didn’t alarm me. After that her movement had decreased. And I, who worried about everything, never thought twice until it was too late.

Dear Jesus.

Guilt overwhelmed me. Overtook me. It pounded me on the battlefield to where I could barely breathe.

And then I had an epiphany. It registered that maybe I wasn’t meant to know why. I wasn’t meant to save her. Even though I was her mother and she lived within me, she was never mine. She belonged to Him.

When you capture even a glimmer of understanding that what you are fighting is bigger than you – and you finally allow God to fight because He is the only One who can – you will let go of condemnation. You will finally rid yourself of guilt. You will begin breathing slowly, one breath at a time, until you fill those lungs with air again.

You cannot fix this, and you probably were never meant to know why you’ve been placed on this battlefield. So fly the white flag of surrender. I know it sounds crazy, but, as I’ll explain at the end of this series, it’s the only way to claim victory.

Accept His love and free yourself from condemnation.

How have you overcome condemnation in your life?

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