October 16, 2007
No More Shame
I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. Psalms 34:4-5 (NIV)
Devotion:
I still remember the outdated furniture and stale coldness of the room. Women from all walks of life were there. Our paths had crossed at this awful place, a place where life was exchanged for death. We would now share an unmentionable secret.
No one let her eyes meet another's. Though medical fluorescents brightly lit the room, the heavy darkness in my soul made true vision nearly impossible. What had brought me to this place? Certainly, I had people to blame. There was the man who sexually abused me in childhood. I could blame my biological father. Maybe if he had given me the love and acceptance I so desperately longed for, I would not have come to this place. I could blame God. Why had a loving God let such terrible things happen to me? Tears filled my eyes and deep sobs poured from my soul in that cold room. I knew I could not blame anyone but myself. I'd walked into this place. I'd signed the papers. I'd allowed my baby to be aborted.
I can just imagine Satan hissing as he writes his name across the victim's heart: Shame. I have felt shame's pain - a deep, constant throbbing of regret from the past mixed with dread of the future.
Let's look at when shame made its debut. Genesis
But that is a lie from the pit of hell. When I finally brought my sin out into the light, God met me there with grace, forgiveness, and healing. Then he gave me the courage to let Him take my shame and use it for His good. I can say without hesitation the thing that has brought me the most healing has been to share my story with other women. Now that I have seen God touching and healing others through my testimony, the shame has gone and freedom has come.
Dear Lord, I thank You for seeing me as pure, clean and spotless and without blemish. You alone have the power to heal those parts of me that I have buried and tried to hide for so long. May Your grace be enough for me today as I trust You to work all things for Your good. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Who Holds the Key to Your Heart by Lysa TerKeurst
Listen to Today's P31 Radio Show
Application Steps:
Write down and meditate on these three truths:
1. By His wounds, I am healed.
2. God never forgets His promises. When He says that nothing I have ever done could make Him stop loving me, it is absolute truth. His love for me cannot be shaken.
3. Jesus died of a broken heart, so that I don't have to. He thought of me on that cross, and because of His sacrifice, I am forgiven and set free.
Reflections:
My Bible dictionary defines shame as the following: “disgrace, humiliation, often at hands of an enemy.”
We have an enemy in this world who leads us into temptation. Ultimately, if temptation overtakes us then we fall into sin which brings on a sense of shame. The feelings of guilt, disgrace, and humiliation that we experience as a result of shame can bind us and paralyze our relationship with God.
Remember that Jesus Christ defeated Satan, with the cross. Because of that, we don’t have to be held captive to shame at the hands of our enemy any longer.
Power Verses:
Psalm 118:5, “In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free.” (NIV)
Matthew 10:26, “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” (NIV)
1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (NIV)
Revelation 3:18, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich, and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” (NIV)
Proverbs 31 Ministries
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