I had an old denim hat that I used to wear every day. It was my absolutely favorite hat until one day when we went on a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. As I was standing on the deck, enjoying the breezy day, the wind snatched my hat off and blew it into the water. We quickly tried to fish it out with a long pole, but as it sank beneath the waves, I had to let it go and move on with my day. I knew it was irretrievable.

Guilt is one of the most unpleasant emotions. It has a way of hanging on one and haunting them long after the shame of a mistake has passed. Some of us wear our guilt like a favorite old hat and have a hard time letting go of it when the Lord tries to snatch it away from us. Guilt can eat away at us more than spiritually; it can have a long-term effect on our physical and emotional health.
Have you made a mistake in the past that the enemy still uses to make you feel guilty? Do you struggle to know how to get past those heavy feelings and back into a vibrant, liberating life, filled with joy and all the brilliance of God’s grace? You can! Micah 7:18-20 gives us great hope:

“Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You (Lord) will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which You have sworn to our fathers from days of old.”

We serve a great, big God who loves us and delights in cleansing us and covering our sins and mistakes with His precious, atoning blood. And when He liberates us from our iniquities, He does it completely with no strings attached. He throws our sins in the deepest sea and puts up a “NO Fishing” sign.
The devil has no right or authority to dredge up old sins from the bottom of the ocean to use against us again and again. You can remind him of that when he tries to throw a guilt bomb back on you. You have every right and authority to dance and revel in your Father’s forgiveness and release those shameful memories into His hands of mercy. And He doesn’t want YOU to go fishing for them either!
I encourage you to let go of your guilt today. Let it sink once and for all beneath the waves of God’s grace and mercy. And let His goodness and compassion flood in and overwhelm that empty place where your guilt used to cling. Yes, you can revel in His lavish love and move on with your day.