Most of us can recall times when we’ve said or done something that we were ashamed of later. We wished we could have taken back our words or actions and erased the hurt they caused. However, feeling like this isn’t God’s will for us. When we believe what God says about shame, we’ll refuse to tolerate it.
God offers us grace not just to give us the good things He does want us to have, but also to take away the bad things He doesn’t want us to have. Shame is one of those bad things; Jesus hated this emotion much, He went to the cross and took it on our behalf. He gave His back to those who struck Him, and didn’t hide His face from shame and spitting. We know we’ll never be disgraced when God helps us in this area.
Shame makes us feel unworthy, unlovable, and rejected. The world assumes this feeling is a part of life we must deal with; God says otherwise. When Jesus was hanging on the cross and chose to accept the shame of all the world’s sins, it resulted in His first ever separation from the Father. In the ninth hour, Jesus asked God why He had forsaken Him.
Jesus became the rock of offense so that He could forever take away sin and shame for those who believe in what He did. He actually became sin for us so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. He did all this because of His love for us.
Jesus went through the shame of rejection so that we would never have to; we now have God’s promise that He’ll never leave us. He emphatically assures us that He won’t in any way leave us helpless, forsake us, let us down, or relax His hold on us. Shame no longer has to be an issue. All that’s left for us to do is simply to believe this.
Prayer:
Lord, shame is an evil and devastating emotion. Your Son died to take it from us so that we would never have to suffer from the pain of it. We’re thankful for what He did. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Scriptures:
Isaiah 50:6, 7, NKJV
Matthew 27:46
Romans 9:33
2 Corinthians 5:21
Hebrews 13:5, AMPC