Shame. The Lexham Bible Dictionary defines it as, “feelings associated with (but not limited to) failure, public exposure, disgrace, embarrassment, social rejection, ridicule, and dishonor.”
Is there an experience you went through, a secret you’re hiding, perhaps something someone spoke over you that has left you feeling red-faced and living in shame? Most likely, at certain times in each of our lives, we have had to experience the bitter taste of disgrace, ridicule, embarrassment, failure, or rejection.
Shame makes you feel like a sham, hiding a secret, not able to fully share who you are, feeling like you have to hide. You may hide from people, but God sees you, He doesn’t condemn you, He is calling for you.
God’s original and perfect plan from the beginning was for human beings to feel NO shame. It says in Genesis 2:25 that “Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame!” The moment they disobeyed God and believed the enemy, sin slithered in and Adam and Eve felt exposed. However, even in their sin, God covered their shame.
The hand of God covers you.
The blood of Jesus covers you.
The heart of the Holy Spirit covers you.
All darkness in the marvelous power of God’s light and truth, has to flee and holds no power. He brings the hidden into light to expose the darkness and allow the light of Jesus to shine in.
Shame exposes, God covers.
Shame condemns, God convicts.
Shame destroys, God heals.
You are safe in God’s presence. I pray God gives you the courage and the grace to be vulnerable with Him, to lay down all your shame, burdens, fears, insecurities, shortcomings, secrets, at His beautiful feet, having full confidence that:
He will not leave you
when you reveal you,
He will heal you,
so show Him the real you.
Shame makes you feel alone and that you’re the only one struggling - it’s a lie from the enemy to make you feel isolated and too far gone to be healed, loved, or accepted. Shame is NOT from God. Shame is a sham and is from the enemy. The enemy is shame; you’re not the enemy. Shame is the result of sin and brokenness.
Shame, which is from the enemy steals destiny, kills identity, and destroys confidence. But Jesus died on the cross to give destiny, birth identity, and build confidence!
When you are in Christ Jesus, God no longer sees your shame, or your guilt, or your mistakes, He sees you as His perfect and blameless son, Jesus Christ!
"But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation." – Colossians 1:22
Our calling, as the body of Christ, is to let people know that their true identity is not to live in shame and be ashamed, but to reclaim their original God-breathed identity, as created in His image, as royalty, and as sons and daughters of the true King.
The cross was the ultimate symbol of shame, torture, and humiliation. Jesus was spit on. Jesus was stripped of His robe. Jesus had a crown of thorns placed upon His head. Jesus was ridiculed. Jesus was mercilessly taunted and insulted. But, when Jesus was nailed on the cross, He took all of our shame, all of our sins on the cross with Him – all for Love. Because He is Love Himself, He resurrected in full power and glory!
Shame is lame and it keeps you in pain, so let Jesus remove your stain and bring glory to His name!
"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." – Isaiah 53:5
Breaking free from shame is not a set of rules, but a lifestyle of knowing, loving, and being healed by the One who took our shame on the cross! God invites us to have a heart-to-heart, face-to-face, eye-to-eye connection and conversation with Him in His presence, free of shame.
You no longer need to carry shame, because Jesus carried your shame on the cross! Your sin, your shame, your regrets, your past, your hurts, your pain, was not too much for Him to carry, He did it for you so you don’t need to live with that weight! You are not disgusting to Him, you are not too much to Him, you are not unlovable to Him. He loves you, He cares for you, and He wants to heal you.
God removed the barrier between us and Him through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He broke the walls of shame and now there is no divide for those in Christ Jesus. God sent His perfect, shameless, son Jesus to die for us and take our shame on the cross - and when Jesus was crucified our shame was crucified on the cross with Him! When He rose again, He has given us the gift to rise in glory with Him! If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).
Shame may have been birthed in the garden, but it died at the cross of Jesus Christ!
It is finished!
"Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours." – Isaiah 61:7
Love & Blessings,
Elena Maranian
On The Elena & Natalia Show in Part 1 & Part 2 of our Shamed to Named series, we proclaim that God will also mend your broken pieces, deliver you into wholeness, and break the chains of shame off of you as we share the redemptive story of David and Mephibosheth found in 2 Samuel 9.