So Much Shame

Many of us live with so much shame. Most of the time we don’t even know that we are.

Shame is a crafty thing.

Have you gone through something that you didn’t ask for, nor ever wanted or even planned on? The feelings that are connected with that can be so overwhelming, and often the underlying emotion is shame, and we don’t even pick up on that.

Shame is tied into who we think we are.

But wait…it has been said that we aren’t who we think we are. We’re not even who others think we are. We are who we think others think we are.

And oftentimes that comes with a boat load of shame~

We need a Higher Power. For me that is God, the Father and Creator of all that our eyes can see and even the things we can’t see.

But here’s the deal…if I really believed that this Almighty God is truly my Higher Power, then I wouldn’t feel the shame I feel. Right?

Have you ever spent time just thinking about how much you are loved by the Father? It doesn’t depend on what we do or haven’t done, it only depends on who He is.

There are a few phrases that have been bouncing around in my head for that last couple of days. The first one I heard in a message by Kyle Idleman, teaching pastor at Southeast Christian Church. He said “We believe in the reality of the cross and we believe in the reality of our sin.” They sort of go hand in hand. We wouldn’t need the reality of the cross if we didn’t get the reality of our sin.

I haven’t majored much in reality throughout my life. I majored in hope and positive thinking. It’s hard to look past those two things and catch a glimpse of reality.

There seems to be a fine line between faith and reality.

The second phrase came from a song: “It was my death He died.” That line gets me every time. Six words. So much truth and so much power.

The reason? So you and I wouldn’t have to live with so much shame.

Letting go is an incredibly hard thing to do. That includes letting go of shame.

To let go of shame means looking past the lies of who we believe others think we are and seeing who we really are. Who God thinks we are.

And that is all that really matters.

The third phrase is this: Letting go of so much shame and embracing a God who loves us and cherishes us; a God who thinks we are significant and important, is an act that will change our lives forever.

It will change not only who we think we are but it will change our realities.

Exchanging the old for the new, according to what I’ve just written would mean letting go of so much shame.

Are you ready?