If the title doesn’t offend you, please read on.
Do one or more of these tendencies resonate with you?
- “I have a hard time asking for help.”
- “I keep my weaknesses to myself.”
- “I cannot forgive myself for the bad things I have done.”
- “I blame or criticize myself harshly for my actions.”
- “I am judgemental towards others.”
- “I don’t think I deserve the good things that God blessed me with.”
- “I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough. Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up.”
If any of the above speak to you, my brother and sister, you are not alone.
The world tells us our worth is in our income, our past, our appearance, our social media following, and so on… All of the messages tell us that we are not good enough. We become disconnected with God, thinking that we are not worthy of His love for us. In other words, the unbelief in God’s love for you is the feeling of shame.
Shame creeps up on us without us even knowing. Unlike guilt, which is the sense of regret we experience when we’ve done something wrong, shame cuts directly into the core of who we believe we are – it is the feeling that there is something intrinsically wrong with us. We then tend to want to fix ourselves of the things that we feel like are “wrong” with us. We begin to create this narrative of ourselves to justify and explain our flaws.
… shame cuts directly into the core of who we believe we are – it is the feeling that there is something intrinsically wrong with us.
When Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the forbidden tree, they were naked and ashamed. Their first instinct was to hide from God (Genesis 3.7-11). This combination of failure and pride all at once becomes so ingrained in us that we don’t even notice it drives our thoughts and behaviors. We too, seek protection from the wrong places and try to hide.
But Jesus came to save us from our shame. He ate with the sinners and tax collectors (Mark 2.15). He cared for the lowly and healed the lepers (Luke 17.11-19). He died on the Cross for us, the most shameful method of punishment, so that we can live free from bondage and in victory.
But Jesus came to save us from our shame. He ate with the sinners and tax collectors (Mark 2.15). He cared for the lowly and healed the lepers (Luke 17.11-19). He died on the Cross for us, the most shameful method of punishment, so that we can live free from bondage and in victory.
Our Father made no mistake in creating you, no matter how imperfect you feel. You don’t have to hide anymore. Approach God’s throne of grace with confidence (Hebrews 4.16). To break the power of shame starts with knowing and believing that You have been made in His image, fully known and dearly loved by Him.
To break the power of shame starts with knowing and believing that You have been made in His image, fully known and dearly loved by Him.
“For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.”
– Psalm 139:13-14, ESV