Chapter Three

In our meeeting we spoke about the different symptoms of PAS and how each one of us has varying symptoms of it, but how we all shared the feelings of guilt, anger and sorrow at one time. In Chapter Three you read about David and his sin of adultery and conspiring to murder Uriah, yet David was loved by God and was "a man after God's own heart". We pretty much found that guilt is often times self-inflicted and a weapon of Satan's. We confess our sin, praise God for His grace and mercy and move on. We can take steps to help dissolve our guilt by reflecting on David's Psalms and his praises of God, praying to God to relieve us of the burden of guilt and by banishing the emotion every time it enters our thoughts because that is a lie from Satan.
Anger is righteous or a sin. Jesus had righteous anger in clearing the temple and with the pharisees when he felt God being grossly disregarded. But Jesus never got angry when he himself was disrespected. Anger breeds bitterness, it's like a fungus. It grows and spreads and hardens our hearts AND its wasteful. We need the help of God, the Holy Spirit and prayer to overcome this emotion and again Satan loves it when we hold onto this one. Don't let Satan trick you into believing you have a right to be angry.
We have lots to be sorrowful for. Our past abortion, perhaps abuses, drug or alcohol abuses, promiscuity (and I'm just talking about myself), but maybe others have experienced this as well. But again, be sorrowful for a season then move on because God wants to give us His joy, His peace, His wonderful presence one day. And those are the things we need to fix our eyes on. Ask God to ease your sorrow. Read scripture, pray, meditate, He'll answer you.
I have two scriptures to review. One is Ecclesiates 5:18-20: "Then I realized it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him - for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work - for this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart". Solomon, the wisest man in the world, knew what he was writing about. He tried everything to find happiness, but only through his communications with God did he find gladness of heart. What these passages tell me is that TODAY we can find happiness in what God has provided for us. Our families, friends, a roof over our heads, our job or our spouses' jobs, our health or any provision God has made for us. Verse 20 tells us to put our past behind us. From ages 7-12, I was severely sexually abused by my father, I experienced abortions and sins of all kinds. I could dwell on these things and allow Satan a foothold. Allow depression to overwhelm me and on bad days sometimes they do. But most days I remember today, not yesterday and I thank God. I so want and strive to be occupied with gladness of heart. Don't you?
The other scripture is really the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden with some thoughts that maybe hadn't occurred to you before. Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which was a sin. Immediately they felt guilt, shame and embarrassment (evil) of being naked and having done exactly what they weren't supposed to do. They sewed fig leaves for clothes and hid from God. They were now in a sinful state. God sent Adam and Eve from Eden because above all they could not eat from the tree of life and live forever miserable knowing and living in a state of sin. This expulsion from Eden was an act of compassion from God. The other act God did for Adam and Eve was to cover their shame and guilt with comfortable animal skins instead of fig leaves. What do the two acts alone indicate? He loved them enough to protect them from living forever feeling sin. God had so much compassion for them He made them comfortable garments to cover their feelings of shame and embarassment. Well, since that time something even more magnificent has happened. God has sent us a sure proof plan that wipes away sin and feelings of guilt, shame and embarassment altogether, if only we accept it. God loves us so much he sent Jesus Christ to erase sin and cover our nakedness. Because God is filled with compassion, He doesn't want us to think and feel these negative emotions. We honor Him by working on and praying for those negative emotions to become a thing of the past.
Read other scriptures: 1 Timothy 1:12-14; Revelations 7:15-17; Romans 12:19