Hope After an Abortionናሙና

Emotions: Guilt & Shame

 Many of us seek out healing from our abortion experiences because of the guilt and shame we feel. We feel guilt because of the ways we have disobeyed God’s laws -- whether it be the abortion itself, getting pregnant, or sleeping with the particular man who got us pregnant. Many of us feel shame because we now see ourselves as broken, sinful people because of our choices. It is as if we are wearing a “scarlet letter” – forever marked by our abortions. 

The people of Israel felt a similar way, and yet God assured them, through the prophet Isaiah, that though their sins were as scarlet, the Lord would forgive their sins and make them white as snow.

God offers us the same good news: our abortions, while a part of our stories, do not need to define who we are. When we confess and repent to God, our guilt and shame are released. God invites us to come to him with our sins – even if they feel like a “scarlet letter” – so that he can respond to us with forgiveness and with the removal of these feelings.

 So how do we confess and repent? 

We find our answer in the story of the prodigal child:      

1. First, the son looks directly at his sin and guilt and determines to live differently.      
2. Next, he returns to his father’s house and in humility and vulnerability, admits his guilt.      
3. Finally, the son repents by changing his mind about how he will live and behave in the future. 

 Conviction. Confession. Repentance.

 Too often we stop ourselves from returning to God because of the shame we feel and the condemnation it produces. When we respond to guilt by condemning ourselves, we remove the possibility of forgiveness, change, and restoration. This sense of hopelessness causes us to experience intense levels of shame and to isolate ourselves from others. On the other hand, when we respond to guilt with conviction, we look our guilt straight in the eye and then believe that change can happen.

No matter the sin we have committed, no matter how long we have stayed away from God because of our shame, the words of Isaiah 1 and Luke 15 assure us that God will always respond to our confession and repentance with forgiveness and acceptance.