“For You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil cannot lodge with You. The boastful cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all evildoers. You destroy those who tell lies; the LORD abhors a man of bloodshed and treachery. But I enter Your house by the abundance of Your faithful love; I bow down toward Your holy temple in reverential awe of You.” – Psalm 5:4-7 (HCSB)

Guilt is a natural part of life. In fact, we have clinical diagnoses for disorders that exist in people who feel no remorse for evil actions. The reason we all have felt the sting of guilt is because of the truth of Psalm 5:4-6. God hates evil, and our evil actions separate us from Him. So the truth we find in verse 7 is incredibly freeing: We may enter God’s presence, not because we have earned it, but because of God’s faithful love for us. The psalmist was looking forward to the full revelation of this truth that would come in Jesus Christ; “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”(Romans 5:8). So for the person who has never put their faith in Jesus Christ, guilt serves to show them their need for the Savior. And for those of us who have eternal life through Jesus, guilt serves as a constant reminder that we are not in God’s presence because of our own merit, but because of His faithful love. Loving Father, thank You for rescuing us from our sin and restoring us to You. Let us be constantly aware of your faithful, saving Love until the day we are made perfect with You for eternity.