Overcoming Feelings of Guilt and Shame

Dr. Sandra Littles Tyler

Description

Are you plagued with guilt, shame, and condemnation from your past? Set your mind on the freedom that Christ has given; it is available now.
Evidence reveals that the magnitude of Guilt, Shame and condemnation and the level of debilitation and devastation it may cause when left unaddressed and unresolved is vast. The inability to identify and understand the source of guilt, shame, and condemnation and the impact it has in the believer’s daily life can hinder individuals from living in the victory that is available through the revelation of Scripture. Dr. Tyler has presented a concise and comprehensive biblical perspective on guilt, shame and condemnation. Suffer no more, freedom is available now.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Spiritual Growth
• Christian Living
• Philosophie et théologie
• Condemnation
• Guilt
• Shame
• Regret

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 11 avril 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664295322
• Langue: English

Extrait

OVERCOMING FEELINGS OF GUILT AND SHAME
 
WALKING IN THE FREEDOM THAT CHRIST BRINGS
 
 
 
DR. SANDRA LITTLES TYLER
 
 

 
 
Copyright © 2023 Dr. Sandra Littles Tyler.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.
 
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
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Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9533-9 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9534-6 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9532-2 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023905041
 
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 04/03/2023
 
 
Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.
 
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
 
Scripture quotations marked CSB are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
 
Scripture quotations marked ESV taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 
Scripture quotations marked CEV are taken from the Contemporary English Version®, Copyright © 1995 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
 
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
 
Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from The New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
 
Scripture quotations marked WNT are taken from the Weymouth New Testament (New Testament in Modern Speech). Public domain.
 
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 
Scripture quotations marked BSB are taken from The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible, BSB. Copyright ©2016, 2018 by Bible Hub. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
 
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Preface
PART 1: GUILT AND SHAME: MY STORY OF REDEMPTION
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
PART 2: PERSPECTIVES ON GUILT AND SHAME
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Conclusion
The Fountain
Follow-Up Survey on Guilt and Shame
Bibliography
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I dedicate this book to my spouse, Rev. Earnest J. Tyler III. I am grateful for your support and spiritual leadership. To my children, Keia Medlock, John Dawson, Jr. and Josiah Dawson, I am grateful for your unconditional love throughout my journey of motherhood. I am thankful for my eight grandchildren and great-granddaughter for making me smile. You brighten my world.
I also dedicate this book to the memory of my grandmother, Mrs. Mary F. Adams; to my biological mother, Mrs. Velma Ruth Lankster Jones; and her sister, my adopted mother, Mrs. Susie Maryetta Littles, for your love and care. I am grateful for each of my siblings who inspire me. Thanks to the late Mr. Artie B. & Mr. Willie Charles Littles for their love and devotion. Rev. Carl Lankster, thanks for your godly counsel, and Rev. Richard Lankster, thank you for allowing me to share the Gospel in your church.
I am thankful to Mrs. Eunice Jones for coming to my aid as an infant, and to my hometown friends who view my weekly online Bible study. I want to thank Rev. and Mrs. Willis, for welcoming my family to Columbus, Georgia. I am grateful for Drs. Charles and Gloria Rodgers and their church, who later welcomed my family and provided safety and counsel, training, and ministry opportunities. I am thankful for the Clinical Pastoral Education community, and chaplains who share my passion for pastoral care and counseling.
PREFACE
This book was challenging to write—not because I don’t like writing, but because I had to revisit deeply personal and hidden areas within, and I had to remain there long enough to share an open and honest story that occurred almost three decades ago, when I was in my thirties. It was a dark period of my life, and to be honest, I would be more comfortable never having to relive the memories. But there is freedom in confronting and addressing issues that, though they occurred in the past and lie underneath the surface, tend to creep into the present and invade, inch by inch. Guilt and shame remain a subtle threat and can come together as a factor until dealt with in totality and at the core. If guilt and shame are listened to and allowed access even for a while, this oppressive power can cause you to bite from the apple of regret, so much so that you become stuck in a cesspool of emotional pain and woe.
I was living and working overseas in the early 1990s and had been successful in acquiring a new career-conditional status for the job I already held as childcare director. Loneliness took me to a place of impatience, desperation, and at times manipulation. I experienced feelings of isolation, but because of the prominent status I attained, I felt entitled and empowered to fill an empty void and to find love. This decision brought about great loss, as I relinquished my career and forfeited many possessions. I might have lost my life and the lives of my precious loved ones.
“The throat of the individual’s soul is parched,” Larry Crabb has observed, “thirsty for the water of loving relationship and meaningful impact.” He further noted that when one refuses to turn to God for the water that He provides, the longings become tyrants, urging the individual to find satisfaction anywhere and by any means necessary. 1 This urging, if carried out, could cause you to violate God’s standards to gain your desires.
Although I shared my musical talent with local church choirs and military chapels stateside and overseas, my desire for love did not decrease. The pain of my relationship failures did not hurt any less, but these feelings were masked within my talents, my appearance, and my tenacity. Guilt and shame followed me for decades, until I finally found peace in my life and in my personal ministry to others. This would take time, a host of tears, and a surrender to God.
As you engage with this book and commit to devoting time with God through worship and meditation in His presence, my prayer and objective is that you develop the tools and strength necessary to walk in victory in your daily life. There is freedom in confronting and addressing issues that, though they occurred in the past, continue to have an impact in the present.
This book’s purpose is to emphasize how you can set your mind free from the effects of guilt and shame and from dwelling on past mistakes by allowing the Lord to heal your brokenness. This can be done through an understanding of sin, guilt, shame, and humanity’s fallen state in biblical history and as demonstrated in my personal experience. I hope to capture God’s wonderful plan of redemption, salvation, and justification, which comes through belief in Jesus Christ.
PART 1
GUILT AND SHAME: MY STORY OF REDEMPTION
CHAPTER 1
If you, Lord kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
—PSALM 130:3–4 (NIV)
M y redemption story is one that I struggled to write, because underneath, I wanted to present something that was acceptable and fitting for a minister. I wish my story revealed fewer personal flaws, but I have realized that God has loved me as unconditionally and completely in my past as He does today. While writing and detailing things from my past, I experienced feelings of trauma, fear, and hopelessness again. I had to walk away for weeks to meditate on and declare God’s Word over me. Most importantly, I meditated on God’s love for me. After spending time in God’