Know You Are Beloved by Rev. Chris LeeSample

Day 3: Love That Drives Out Shame

We all feel shame at certain points in our lives. It’s one of the most powerful negative emotions there is. Guilt says, "I did something bad." Shame says, "I am bad." Shame is intimate and therefore very powerful as it whispers lies about who we are at our core. It’s the voice that says, "You’re dirty. You’re bad. You’re not enough. You’re fooling no one. You’re a mistake." It’s the voice that says the real you is the hidden, sordid, addicted mess of your inner battles. The bits no one sees.

We need to meet the whispered lies we hear with truth. Truth is not a concept or feeling; truth exists, and we can hold on to it. Jesus is the truth. He said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Whatever bondage you feel can be broken. The shame that covers you can be lifted if you know and experience the truth.

Jesus tells you, I know you, all of you. You are not your weaknesses, your faults, your mistakes. You are Mine, and I died for you because I know the deepest you, and it is good.

Jesus draws us past the voices that constantly hound our minds and calls us children of God. As we read in Psalm 23:5-6,

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

forever.

I love this image of God taking us by the hand, sitting us down at His table, and honoring us in front of the people who represent the lies we allow ourselves to believe.

Jesus will not condemn us when we come to Him. He will not ridicule us. He will not say, “I told you so” or “You got what you deserved.” He will love us, accept us, and heal us with His love because He is love. Shame is a straitjacket, but Christ came for freedom. We are children of God, and we are called to be free from shame. That’s why Jesus died for us. He didn’t die for the “clean” special ones; He died for us while we were lost in our sin and pinned down by shame. Sometimes our shame also comes out of things that we’ve done wrong, and we feel that because we’ve done something bad, we are a bad person. There is nothing that can’t be forgiven if you only come to Him and ask.

Truth is found in Jesus.

Invite Jesus into your thoughts, into your shame, into the dark places.

He knows about them already.

He can bring healing and restoration.

He can do all things.

Breathe.