Standing Against Shame

“The Lord is very ready to forgive: it is the church that is unmerciful sometimes, but not the Master: he is ever willing to receive us when we come to him, and to blot out our transgression. . . Just so does your heavenly Father wait to catch you up, and to press you to his bosom and say, ‘I have loved thee with an everlasting love.’” – Charles Spurgeon

Writing this post is different for me. Speaking of what I am about to share is not common. However, it is important…

I was in high school. I remember the night very well. That night left a knife wound in my soul. It was the night a group of high schoolers thought a disabled teen would make a good target for their prank. They took advantage of me. Shame washed over me, and I thought I was forever caged. Throughout that time I was shamed for being disabled. Mocked for walking with a limp. Jokes being made because my body did not work “normally.” I left high school battered, bruised, and cut deep. From those moments, I began to experience shame over my thoughts, and my body. I was the freak of the high school. “Freak” had been tattooed on my forehead.

Everyday I felt like I wasn’t walking with leg braces. No. Instead, I was walking with chains of shame. Shame drove me to distrust people, push people away, and wall up my soul.

In the silence, I was crying tears of shame.

We all experience shame for something or another…

And it is time to stand against shame.

Shame Over Our Bodies

In our culture today, we can be shamed for how our bodies are made. I have been there. Those who claim to be Christians make fun of how God created us. We feel our only purpose is to be the butt of a joke, and never fit in. And shame places its chain around our necks.

But, our eyes and minds deceive us. The sound of their laughter echoes in our ears, and the painful memories feel like ghosts on a stage. Yet, we need to remember our Creator.

Psalm 139:13-16 not only reveals a truth about us, but about our Creator. God took time putting our bodies together for a specific purpose that at times we cannot see. God knew I would limp. He knew I would not be able to have children. He knew my body would not function like a physiologically normal man. He made all those decisions for me. Yet, he has a purpose.

I remember not that long ago, I was walking to work and the pain in my back was so great that I began shedding tears. I could not make it up the stairs to my office. Yet, God saw my tears over the shame I felt with my physical body. Psalm 56:8 flashed through my mind. God records every tear we shed.

The only way to stand against the shame over our bodies is to remember the promises of God. Despite the pain, despite the jeering, and despite two-faced Christians… we stand on the promises of God. He never created us to be ashamed of what he created in our bodies. He loves us so much to give us a purpose of showing the love of Christ through our bodies. John 9 promises that it is not for evil we have been created with chronic pain, or the disability. Instead, Jesus comes to us and says, “I love you so much that I knew you would be weak so I could use your body for a special purpose.” Our bodies are never punishments. Our bodies are a promise of a Creator who has something planned. We may never see it, but we know God never lies and that promise will be fulfilled.

Shame Over Our Struggles

The incidents of high school changed me. It brought on many struggles I kept silent, because I was ashamed about my thoughts. I was ashamed that I thought I was just to be used by people. I was not loved. I would be the freak that could never belong. This shame brought the struggle that I would never be loved by a woman. I was the beast, and there was no hope of a beauty.

We all have those struggles. Those struggles we hide, yet they feel like a shadow of a serial killer following us. We suffocate in the silence. Our tears flow when we fall again, or we just can’t shake those thoughts. So eventually we becomes a walking mat for shame.

However, Romans 5 changes the game. Our salvation does not just get us a home in Heaven and eternal life. Don’t believe that is all faith in Jesus brings. Our Savior is greater. Our salvation brings us peace with God, it brings us confidence to face our struggles, because in Jesus there is triumph over sin. We no longer have to be stepped on by shame. We can stand against it through the power of Jesus. Psalm 56:8, again, promises God sees our tears. He knows what sin does. Even back in Genesis 3:15 our Creator promises a Savior. Jesus took our shameful struggles to the cross and bled to give us the triumph over them.

No longer do we have to be crying in silence. We can stand against shame. Our struggles do not define us. In fact, God sees us as his saints. Romans 3:26 shows that God makes us righteous before him. Satan is the accuser; not God. Because Romans 8:1 shouts loudly there is no condemnation for those of us who are in Jesus. We are set free and made into a new person (II Corinthians 5:17). No one can take away that love. Not a person, not a word of criticism, not a religious movement… Nothing. God loves us so much he took on a body, was crucified, resurrected, and kept that body because he did not want us separated from his love. Romans 8:31-39 is a seal for us. It is a promise that we can stand against the shame of our struggles because of Jesus our Incarnate Savior.

Jesus Standing Against Shame

There are so many days I feel so alone, and the tears of shame overwhelm. Yet, did you know Jesus faced shame and was alone?

Luke 22:39-46 shows Jesus going into the garden to pray. His heart is heavy with anguish over the shame he is about to face (Matthew 26:37-38). He knew what was coming, and the shame that would overwhelm him. And, Jesus was alone. The disciples were asleep. Yet though the tears dropped like blood to the ground, Jesus gave it to God, “Not my will, but your will be done.”

Jesus stood against the shame of the cross in order to give us victory over our shame (Hebrews 12:1-2). He paved the way as the author of our salvation. He gave us the legs to run against shame and run with endurance. He has been there. He has the scars of shame on his own body. Yet, he did it for you and me. No longer to be chained to shame, but to stand against it.

Step Into A New Day

When I think of my past, and the shame it brought I can feel those shadowy hands trying to take my breath. The tears come, and God knows them all. He sent Jesus to bring joy in our salvation.

Shame no longer has control over us. It is not because we have determined to do anything. Jesus Christ, our Savior, frees us from the bondage and we can stand against shame. We can step into a new day, because great is our God’s faithfulness; his mercy is new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-24). We can breathe with new lungs as the new creation God makes us in salvation.

Yes, I struggle with shame. It is a battle of learning to stand against it. Yet, it is learning to step into a new day receiving the new mercies of our faithful God each day. We are saved by the blood of Christ to stand, not in shame, but in confidence that we are cleansed, justified, and sanctified in the name, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 6:9-11).

We can stand against shame, because Jesus faced it already and broke the chains of shame.