Scrap the Shame: Embracing What God Actually Thinks of Youనమూనా

Day 1: Wanting to Hide

The feeling might be familiar: the flush of embarrassment flooding your body, maybe a pit in your stomach, or your shoulders feeling tense. Every part of you wants to run away or hide.

The feeling is called shame, and it’s not from God.

Humans have experienced shame since the beginning of the Bible. The first humans, Adam and Eve, experienced such deep shame that they ran from God and hid from Him when He called out to them.

Does any of this sound familiar?

I’m not worth loving.

I’m not strong enough. Or smart enough. Or good enough.

If someone found out about my secret, they’d never forgive me or look at me the same way.

How can God still love me?

Shame is a liar.

Every time you hear a voice like this inside of your head, it’s the enemy lying to you through the sound of shame. Shame isn’t from God. Shame is not how God designed for you to live.

There once was a time when shame didn’t exist. Genesis 2:25 says that even though Adam and Eve were both naked, they felt no shame. So what happened between Genesis 2 and Genesis 3?

A lie.

The enemy lied to Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve believed the lie and then they sinned against God. All of a sudden sin was alive in their bodies and they were suddenly aware of their weakness and nakedness and guilt. Shame entered the picture.

Their first instinct was to hide from God, and if we’re honest with ourselves, ours is often the same. We don’t physically hide from Him the way Adam and Eve did, but we hide behind video games, our phones, the Internet. We hide behind being busy and finishing school and watching Netflix. We hide behind humor. We hide behind deceit.

We can often feel ashamed and afraid and so we hide.

But what if there’s a better way?

Our instinct to hide isn’t necessarily wrong. But it’s where we choose to hide that has the ability to break the power of shame from us.

There is only one Person who can break the power of shame from us. There is only one Person who offers us the protection we need, who can cover our shame and provide us with absolute freedom.

His name is Jesus.

The psalmist says in Psalm 143 that we can hide within God. Jesus is waiting for you with open arms. He is not ashamed of you. Whatever you are feeling today, come running to Him. Don’t hide in the places you’re used to hiding in.

Is shame lying to you today? Come hide yourself in Jesus. Confess your sin to Him. Tell Him everything you’re feeling. Allow Jesus to begin to replace the lies of shame with the truth of who He is.

Jesus is waiting for you, with kindness and goodness and love.

Find your hiding place in Him.

Go deeper: Choose some verses from Scripture that combat the lies shame is telling you. The truth is, you are loved, free, forgiven, and a child of God. Hide yourself within Jesus and read the verses that speak truth over you.

Go deeper with this video from our friends at BibleProject: