Shame | Day 7
Romans 10:11; 1 John 1:9; 1 Corinthians 10:13; John 8:34; Zephaniah 3:5
Please comment below with your conversation with God and/or insights from today’s Scriptures.
You can answer the following:
What are the Scriptures telling you about shame?
Is there anything in your life that you are ashamed of? Why are you ashamed of it? Does anyone else know about it?
What is your prayer to God regarding shame?
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What A Shame | Lemuel Ayudtud
Though the feelings of shame can be debilitating, there are some things we can rely on about God:
He loves us and has forgiven us of any wrong doing—we just have to confess them and accept His grace towards us in faith.
As long as there is life, God gives us the power to apologize for hurting others, to make amends if at all possible.
He brings to our attention our wrongs and gives us the chance to repent or change our ways by His power.
He makes a way for us to scape from situations that can bring us shame. Our response is to hear and take heed.
We don’t have to bear the weight of our misdeeds. If we ask God to, He will take our sins and our wrongs and wipe them clean from His sight. Our role then is to forgive ourselves and walk anew by His Spirit.
Even our mistakes He can turn into a miracle and a milestone—where we can look back and say, “That was the day things changed for me.”
Shame can be debilitating. It can make people hide, consider themselves less, or hurt someone else. One definition of “shame” by the Strong’s Concordance is a vile condition. (Read here for further breakdown.)
The Bible tells us that Jesus took our shame on the cross. Hanging there almost naked, He was exposed for all the onlookers to see. There He was ashamed for our sakes, bearing openly the sins of all of us.
We are normally not ashamed of good things. We can actually be proud if we do right or have achieved some great thing. Shame happens when we do something bad, something that causes others hurt or breaks someone’s trust or expectation. We can even be ashamed if our decisions don’t pan out consistent with societal norms or cultural expectations. And before God, it is a shame to sin against Him, going against His desires and will for us.
Our Scripture reading tells us that only the unjust or unrighteous feel no shame. That’s because they can care less what they do to people, how they make others feel, or their standing with God. But for the most part, we desire to live in peace and harmony with everyone and so feel some type of way when we mess up and cause ourselves to be looked down on or bring negative attention to our families or friends.
How others see us can be a burden. Peering eyes and judgmental looks can take a toll in our minds. Abandonment and distancing can break our hearts. But if we believe in God’s work at the cross and the penalty that Jesus took for us there—bearing our sins, errors and the subsequent shame that comes with it—then we can be stand again openly no matter what others think.
At the end of life—even at the end of the day—His thoughts of us is what’s important! His thoughts of us are good and not evil with a blessed end in mind. These are what we need to anchor our view of our self. Sure we can’t change the past or make the right decisions every time, but with God always loving and forgiving us, His grace will lead us to less and less errors that can lead to shame.
Lord, today I can stand unashamed knowing that You have been shamed for me. Help me not to take that for granted. Help me to always anchor myself in that. Lord, give me a heart that seeks Your will over my life. Give me a mind that considers my good and the good of others. Relieve me from temporary desires that may lead me to wrong choices. Help me to embrace the grace You’ve given me to stand against the pull of sin, lust and pride. Cause me to fully understand that You’re keeping me not from enjoyment but from the shame that can come from falling into sin. I ask this all in Your matchless Name, Jesus, amen.
