Guilt is a difficult task-master. All of us have to deal with it somehow. And how we deal with it makes all the difference. Do I try to minimize it? Do I let it eat me up? Do I try to get rid of it by blaming others? Do I let it drive me to penitent behaviour where I try to "pay for" my misdeeds?
Psalm 32 suggests that there is really only one effective way to deal with guilt - for sin, that is. When we sin against God we try to deal with it in different ways. Some of us shrug it off and say that God doesn't exist so how can we be guilty before someone who does not exist? For others, we rationalize that the Bible is not authoritative, so we are not held accountable before God according to what the Bible says. Others of us try to be good enough to help compensate for our sin. Still others wallow in sorrow of self-deprecation.
What is the best way to deal with guilt? God's way. And that is what Easter is all about. And what Psalm 32 is all about.
Blessed is the one who sin is covered. The one whose sin The Lord does not count against him. And that comes through repentance and forgiveness. The Psalmist speaks of how he was literally in pain because of harbouring sin. It is when we acknowledge before God that we have in fact sinned, when we confess it to God, that He forgives us. And God is gracious and just and will forgive us our sin - when we confess (which is acknowledging) it to God.
So, want to deal with guilt? Admit your sin to God and seek His forgiveness. Then's it's gone. Forever!
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