Unashamed

We have all heard the phrase, “You should be ashamed of yourself!” Whether it is directed at you or another, you instantly know what it means: You should feel awful about yourself.   

Shame is destructive, pulling people down and destroying their hopes and dreams. It disarms people and disempowers them.   

Are you living with the voice of shame? Do you feel unworthy, useless, unable to measure up, a failure? Shame will hold us down every time, so how can we deal with it?  

In Isaiah 43, we find the people of God living in a time of exile in Babylon. They had been forced to leave everything they knew and loved, and in the process, they lost their identity. Where they were once landowners, merchants, and craftsmen, they now were slaves, servants, and immigrants in a foreign land. Displaced and discouraged. Shame was settling into their belief system until God spoke to them a powerful reminder of who they really were: 

But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1 NIV)

Do you hear the heart of God in these words to Israel? This is the same message to each of us who have listened to the voice of shame. God says with love and intention, “Listen to the one who made you!” In other words, don’t listen to the lie of Satan, the one who utters shame.  Instead, listen to Him! He fashioned you, and God loves what He has made. He knows everything about you, and you are beautifully and wonderfully made. You have no reason to fear because he has ransomed you, paying the price for your freedom. He rescued you from slavery to sin and destruction. Not only that, but He calls you by name and knows you personally.

The crescendo to His declaration of love are these three simple words, “You are Mine.” You belong to God, regardless of what others say about you or to you. Regardless of how difficult your circumstances are, or what you have done. God says, “You are Mine.” 

This is at the core of our identity as followers of Jesus. We can live our lives unashamed because of Jesus’ last words on the cross, “It is finished!” No more trying to measure up, no more being held in bondage to sin and shame, no more feeling like a failure. It is finished. Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection from the grave crushed the enemy and the source of shame. 

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:13-15)

Jesus put your shame on the enemy, and He canceled all the charges, the accusations, the records of wrong against you by nailing them to the cross. Wow! If we really believe this, then we can live unashamed. If we choose to live under the voice of shame, however, then essentially, we are declaring Jesus’ death was not enough. It’s like saying, “That’s nice, but it’s not true for me. I’m still unforgiven, I’m not worthy, and I need to carry around shame and guilt for my sin.”  

The wonderful news is we can live unashamed when we choose to believe that we belong to God. And that is courageous living.

Prayer of commitment: 
God, I choose to believe that I am Yours, that I am loved and forgiven. Thank You for the sacrifice of Jesus, and help me to live unashamed. 

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Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION^®, NIV^® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.^® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.