Before Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they were naked and unashamed.
But after they took the forbidden fruit – and everything changed forever for humanity – they realised they were naked, and were ashamed.
At this point, they tried to hide from God….
Shame is something we’ve all felt at some point – whether due to something someone has done to us – or something we have done.
Shame, on some level, is sorrow about the way the world is.
Shame is grief.
And shame makes us, like Adam and Eve, want to hide – or pretend it doesn’t really exist.
I once was friends with a girl who was abused when she was in her pre-teen years.
The man later went to jail for his crimes, but she kept justifying his actions.
She minimised the things he’d done to her, and wrote short stories about what a kind, funny man he was.
She wrote letters to him in jail.
She never admitted that what he’d done was wrong, or spoke about how it made her feel.
I wondered if she was hiding the shame, burying it deep, and running as far away from her bruised childhood as possible.
Some people hide – and some of us delve deep into the shame head on.
Some of us take our shame to God, knowing that he already sees it.
He sees all, knows all, and loves his children, shame and all.
In fact, he did something amazing to take the shame away.
In his death on the cross, he struck a blow to shame and proclaimed we don’t need to be defined by it.
Nor do we need to run from it.
We can take our shame to the feet of Jesus and leave it there.
We can be soul-naked before Jesus and not feel shame.
Because he already paid the price.
His blood offers a path to forgiveness and healing.
And his resurrection from the dead amounts to freedom for every sinner.
We can be free, forever, no matter what we have done, or what’s been done to us.
Lord, thank you that we can bring our shame before the cross of Christ and find healing. Thank you that we can now stand before you unashamed, and find freedom in you. You have conquered death, and while the consequences of sin are still felt as we walk this earth, we have the sure and certain hope that one day everything will be made right, and we will truly walk free with you in heaven. Thank you Jesus!
It's a God thing... 
Abuse victims suffer so much. Even after the abuse ends, it is typical for the shame to continue.
I am grateful for a God that heals the shame in our life.
Yes – it’s heartbreaking, Lynn. I’m so glad we can carry our shame to God and place it in his hands to handle. He can heal, and one day everything will be made right. I’m so thankful for that promise.
God bless x
This is good. So many of us let the Lord deal with our sin and our guilt, yet we hold our shame tight.
Thanks Joseph. Yes, shame is often harder to deal with isn’t it? It goes deeper, to the core of us. And can often require deep healing. So glad that Jesus can handle it, and offers a way forward.
Amen.
~~ “…or pretend it doesn’t really exist.” ~~
Guilty of that one.
Yes Liz, me too. We can bury shame for years, ignore its presence. It can feel easier that way. But no matter how far down we bury it, it has a way of showing up when we least expect it. So glad that we can bring it into the light with Jesus. God bless.
God bless you for sharing this. xx
Thanks Dainty x