When we feel shameful it can oftentimes paralyze us. The regrets of what we have done can suffocate our source of joy. It can be a heated argument where we said what we shouldn’t have or a glancing look that lingered too long.
Sometimes we fall into the temptation of stretching the truth and become the architect of a house of lies. That is until the day our deception falls apart like a house of cards in the path of a box fan.
When we make mistakes we want to believe that God can bring us through them. But the enemy has a secret weapon. It is a tool that we Christians as a whole definitely don’t think is devastating.
That tool is to make us believe that we are unfixable. To the enemy, shame is the name of the game. If he can make us think that we are out of Gods reach then he has won.
But the good news is that the light always overcomes the darkness. And if we will hold tight to these four truths then we will find ourselves refusing to let our mistakes define our future.
When you feel shameful unload your sin on the savior
We cannot do anything about what has happened. So what can we do when we feel shameful about our sin? When the shame of what we have done suffocates us we have to direct all of it to the cross.
It was there on Calvary that our sin was dealt with. The wrath of God was satisfied. If we did not sin Jesus would not have had to go to the cross. So take comfort in the truth that God is not surprised.
All we have to do is unload our sin by telling God that we are truly sorry for what we have done. The enemy wants to make us feel like it has to be harder than just simply telling God.
But God pardoned even wicked cities that confessed their sorrow for their sin to Him. Doesn’t it bring great peace knowing that the cross covered every sin at every time and in every way?
The enemy would like us to unload our sin/shame into a bottle, a pipe, or some other addiction that will only lead us down a darker road. So let us choose the light burden of unloading our sin on the savior. The only side effects of that being a happy heart and forgiven spirit.
It is hard to feel released from our regrets and the burden of what we have done because oftentimes we can’t see a change. There isn’t a checkmark that turns from red to green after we confess our sins to God.
But think about it like when you buy something at the store. If it is paid for you are not freaking out as you bring your groceries through the door.
But if you are actively trying to steal something then there will be that uneasiness and fast pace to get away with it. So in the same way we can have peace when we confess our sins to God because they were paid for on the cross.
When we confess our sin to God shame loses its power over us.
When you feel shameful Remember your identity.
When you feel shameful you are buying into the lie that you are not who God says you are in Christ. After we confess our sins to God and experience the peace of forgiveness we can rest in our identity.
Think about it like this how many of us have access to Bill Gates much less his bank account for our problems? Probably not many of us. But his kids most definitely have access to him.
Just the amazing truth that we can confess our sins tells us we have access to God. That we belong to the God of the universe. The premise of our shame and the lie our sins tell us is that we are loved for one flawed reason.
That flawed reason being our value is directly tied in relation to what we have done instead of who we know. When we feel shameful we fall for the idea that our relationship with God is based on what we have done instead of what God has done.
So we can take heart. Because once we know that we are loved by God our shame is swallowed up by the love of a suffering savior. We belong to Christ because of the cross and not because of all the good deeds we have checked off our list.
Our missteps in life do not endanger our standing in the membership of heaven because of the price Jesus paid for us on the cross.
And it is at the moment that we realize it is what God has done that is the foundation of our heavenly reservation that we can experience heaven on earth.
The cure for your shame is to realize you are accepted not by what you have done but through what Christ has done.
When you feel shameful don't suffer alone
How many of us if we were drowning would just quietly give up without calling for help? Or if we knew that we could not swim would we choose to dive into a fifty-foot-deep lake?
I sure hope not. The same truth applies to our sin and shame. In the words of the writers of Proverbs Iron sharpens Iron. God gave us each other to lean on in our times of difficulty.
Unfortunately, when we feel shameful we suffer alone and never get better. I bet you would be amazed at how free you felt knowing that you have friends walking with you. So let’s all agree to walk with each other in prayer, community, and Godly advice.
SErve instead of sulking
Finally, when you feel shameful you have to live out your identity in Christ. We can read about it all day. But it is not until we live it our that we will see the benefit.
The enemy would like us to believe that we are a bunch of washed up and unfit Christian servants. He will tell you all the reasons that God doesn’t want you.
Buying in to this shame story will cause you to sulk instead of serve. And sulking only reinforces the lie that God is done with you. So we have to believe that God is not done with us.
And choose to start living for God. Choose to give more money to the kingdom. Or choose to share His good news. And as we find ourselves in the midst of serving we will see a reflection of our Father looking back at us.
The more we serve Christ the less room shame has to rule.