Sometimes what you’ve been through is so dreadful, you want to hide and never show your face again. You feel trapped and can’t move forward. Even those you know won’t let you forget such actions. Here’s the thing, that’s the purpose of shame. It intends to steal, kill, and destroy the bright future the Lord secured for you. (John 10:10, AMP). No matter how you’ve failed or did wrong, it won’t define who you are unless you permit it to do so. There’s nothing you can hide from the Lord because He knows all about your flaws and failures. He saw you when you were in the depth of darkness, unable to make things better. Even the empty praise of so-called friends left you alone and void of satisfaction. Nothing the world offered fulfilled your thirst for freedom and deliverance. Everything you tired took you deeper into misery and farther away from Him. The consequences of sin are never inescapable, so surrender your shame to Jesus because He turns shame into glory.
For those whose reproach is from your own misguided choices, the best way to handle this is to forgive, and it includes forgiving yourself as well. Forgiveness is the antidote which tears those strongholds down that keeps reminding you of the terrible things you’ve been through. (Proverbs 28:13, ESV). It helps you overcome those disastrous moments that brought such awful pain and misery into your life. This pushes you onward with God’s wisdom and power than you had before you messed up. (Proverbs 3:13-18). Beloved, allow God to change what you’re ashamed of into a crown of glory.
It could be you, like Job, are ashamed because of the troubles you have. (Job 10:15, CJB). He was innocent and walked upright before God, despite that, he went through a season of severe suffering. Even his friends were not compassionate and understanding as to his plight. They offered nothing but judgment and blamed him for his hardships. He fought with the guilt of shame, though he had done nothing wrong. For his brethren to see him in such a condition was embarrassing, to say the least. He had been infested with sores from the crown of his head to the sole of his feet. He even scrapped himself with broken pottery while he sat in ashes. (Job 2:7-8). His wife told him to curse God and die. (Job 2:9-10). This was not the man they were accustomed to keeping company with.
Too often we don’t want anyone to know we’re going through something that’s too much for us to grasp. Many would have us think people of great faith aren’t supposed to lose hope and become weary in doing well. They even realize all the right scriptures to quote. (Galatians 6:9). So, we are ashamed of how this tragedy has affected us and prefer to deal with it in our strength. After all, how can we explain to someone who believes this is our fault when it’s something God is allowing for His greater glory? When we accept that this is a season we need not go through alone, we open access to release, restoration, and recovery. The Lord never intended for anybody to endure difficulties by themselves, nor should we feel humiliated during such a time. He never promised a life without sorrow and pain. God assures us He will never leave nor forsake us.
Job came to his senses, repented, and recognized to be careful of questioning God who has all wisdom. He knew the Almighty can do all things, and when He chooses not to respond as we hoped, we are to trust Him even when things make little sense. Beloved, no matter what we go through, God won’t allow us to be put to shame. (Isaiah 54:8, AMP). Allowing it to make you feel guilty holds you hostage and destroys your life. Release any shame over to the Lord so you can be free to fulfill His divine purpose. This leads to the restoration of your emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. Then recovery begins, and the cycle of disgrace can’t withstand a person that knows who God created them to be. Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. (Zephaniah 3:19). Dear One, be proud of how you overcame regardless of the humiliation.
God favors His servant Job and accepts his prayers on behalf of his brethren. It is because of Job’s faithfulness during this crisis, and not saying anything against God as they had, the Lord decides not to give to them what they deserve. (Job 42:7-16). He does restore Job and blesses him with double for his trouble. Beloved, the more you glorify God for how you overcame, shame will no longer take center stage.
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