On Wednesday nights, I go to coach Aaron Brister’s Bible Study. A few weeks ago, my friend Shaylee Carver talked about Repentance vs. Apology.
The next two days in my personal quiet time, I read Romans 7 and 8. In my own personal testimony, I’ve struggled with shame from sins I have committed. It took years of pain and suffering in my faith to fully understand and recognize that shame is not from the Lord. It’s a lie the devil feeds believers to keep them from being close to God. When we feel shame, we feel like we aren’t worthy of God’s love and affection, which is the opposite of how we should feel.
In Jeremiah 3:13, it says, “the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you.” I know it’s a lot easier said than done to believe you are worthy of a God’s love when you know you have done wrong. It’s also something you cannot realize while you are in sin.
Romans 7:6 says “But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law.”
We are no longer bound by the chains of sin that once held us captive. You cannot deal with shame from sin until the shackles that are on you are broken. Sin and shame equally keep us from a close relationship with God.
A song I have been loving recently by DBU Chapel Worship is called Want You More:
You’re my father,
You’re my friend,
Can you see the mess I’m in?
Thought that I could fix this on my own.
Shame found its way in.
My heart was steeped in sin.
It’s hard to fight a battle all alone.
I was running, running, running,
Afraid to be close,
Hurting, empty, broken,
Unwilling to be known.
In the midst of all the shame and sin, we exhaust all efforts to fight the battle on our own.
At some point, we must call on God who tells us in Psalm 86:5, “ For you, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive, abounding in faithful love to all who call on you.”
And when we call on God, we can ask him to fight the battle for us. He already has because we are his children.
Romans 8:15 says, “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back. Instead you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!”
The love of our Father should bring us to our knees, make us want to tear off the shackles we’ve put ourselves in, and run to him. When we feel unworthy of his love, we don’t want to be close to him and we don’t want to be known by him. He already knows everything about you. All you have to do is stop running, turn around and call on him. He’ll fight your battles, he’ll tear shackles of sin and shame off of you and bring you close to him, so you can feel the love of him who has adopted you.
If you haven’t called on God yet, I encourage you to do so today. It will be the most important decision you ever make, as it opens the door for him to fight your battles and bring you into his loving embrace.
“And my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
