Seek Sample

Day 5

Pastor Jon Zondervan

Topic: Freedom from Shame

Scripture Reference: Isaiah 54:4

Devotional:

Everyone experiences a certain amount of shame and regret over past sins, poor choices, or decisions they have made in life. In fact, Satan is called the “accuser of the brethren,” and one of his primary ways of attacking followers of Jesus is to use guilt, shame, and condemnation to keep us from believing we can fully walk in God’s plan for our lives. Scripture has much to say about shame, and there are numerous examples of people in the Bible who experienced regret because of poor choices.

In today’s passage, Isaiah is reminding Israel that, even though they have fallen short and worshipped idols, God will not put them to shame if they turn from wickedness and return to Him. But you don’t have to get all the way to Isaiah before you see shame taking a toll on God’s people. In the first three chapters of Genesis, we see Adam and Eve living in perfect union with God, yet still they chose sin over obedience. Adam’s immediate response was to hide from God and attempt to cover his nakedness with tree leaves. I can only imagine the shame both he and Eve must have felt as they remembered the paradise they forfeited and reflected on the ramifications of their decision.

Fast forward to today, and we followers of Jesus are still battling against the shame and rejection that can accompany poor choices we’ve made or promises we’ve failed to keep. How many times have we all said, “God, I’m gonna do better,” or “I swear that was the last time,” when confronting our shortcomings. The temptation is to think that, when we miss it, God gets angry and holds it against us, which can result in us responding like Adam, hiding in shame instead of approaching the throne of grace (see Hebrews 4:16). Too often, we focus on our performance rather than our position.

Thankfully, the Bible is clear that anyone in Christ “is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV). Because of our position in Christ, we are no longer slaves to our past mistakes or failures; instead, we are promised that, “if we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NKJV). Two key things we need to remember as Christians:

1. Godliness is not a line you cross; it's a direction you travel. While it’s true that we’ll never be perfect, we can and must grow in godliness (see 1 Timothy 4:8). When you do miss the mark, don’t run from God in shame, but run to Him in humility! God will never reject a humble and contrite heart, and genuine repentance invites the Spirit to wash and cleanse us so that shame cannot get a foothold (see Romans 8:1).
2. Shame is ultimately the fear of rejection manifesting itself. We fear God could never really love or accept us because of our shortcomings, so we project His rejection on ourselves. Scripture is clear, however, that God will never leave us or forsake us. (see Hebrews 13:5). So when guilt and shame attack your mind, confess the truth that Satan is a liar, you are forgiven, and you are forever a child of God.

One of my favorite scriptures regarding shame is found in Micah 7:8—“Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.”

Lord, thank You that the cross has the final word, not my sin. I thank You for that reality and walk in it today!