Handling the guilt of sin

As we have read through the story of Joseph and his brothers I have detected that the brothers have for many years born the weight of guilt for their sin. Now it is not that they should not have guilt. To throw your brother in a pit, and then sell him as a slave, covering up the whole thing with lies, causing great grief to your father,....all of this is grievous sin. And I believe that God has so designed guilt to make us uncomfortable with our sin, so that we will do something to make things right.
But Joseph's brothers never did anything with it. It was a secret that they held in their hearts, which over the years grew to be a burden. Now when they are confronted with the prospect (Gen 44) of hurting their father again,...the guilt of past sins brings up its ugly head . Judah declares, "What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants..." He was obviously still living with the guilt of past sins.
In our reading today from Mark 14 we encounter two more sinners: Judas and Peter. Judas is disenchanted with Jesus. Jesus' remarks about dying and rising again have turned Judas off. So, he offers to betray Jesus for a few coins, and in the garden that night he gives his Lord the kiss of death. What a heinous sin! Jesus had done nothing but love Judas, yet Judas repays Him in this way. Surely Judas' choice brought to him a load of guilt.
Peter, on the other hand, had every intention of supporting Jesus. In fact, he boasted that he would stand for Jesus even if he had to die for Him. But as we all know, that was not the case. When questioned, even by servant girls, instead of courageously standing with Jesus, Peter declared that he didn't even know Him. When his eyes met Jesus' later, he was filled with guilt and went away weeping.
Guilt for sin is a reality of life. Though modern psychologists may tell us guilt is imaginary, the fact is God designed it for our good if we deal with it properly. Now if we don't deal with it properly, it can kill us. It acts as a weight dragging us down day by day. It acts like a parasite sucking the very life out of our soul.
But that is not the design of guilt. It is meant to make us feel uncomfortable about our sin, so that we will confess it and forsake it. It is meant to prick our hearts until we agree with God (confession) that what we have done is unloving and contrary to His glory. Then it is meant to compel us to go to Christ where alone we can find the complete removal of sin and its accompanying guilt. And when we have done this - when we have confessed our sin and run to Christ for forgiveness - we will feel the burden removed and experience a new freedom in our souls.
Have you been dealing with guilt of past sins? Know that guilt will remain a burden and will continue to suck life from your soul if you do nothing about it. If that is where you are at, know that the Lord is calling you to come. Confess your sin, lay it at the cross, and come to know the freedom of having your sin removed from you "as far as the east is from the west". Praise God for His incredible mercies! Run to them today!