I have been continuing reading the book, “Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at your Table.” I have really enjoyed this book and the thoughts to ponder that come with it. There are many times the Devil finds ways to get into our minds and invade and hurt our thinking. One big tactic the devil tries to use is shame. Shame is a harmful way of thinking many people, including Christians have. It can be very debilitating. We can start to spend time thinking about all the wrongs we have done and will probably do in the future.
There are many times Christians do need to spend time praying to God and asking for forgiveness of sins. We need to be willing to give away the sin in deciding to follow God more closely. However, this guilt or this bringing problems to the Lord is very different from shame. Louie Giglio describes this greatly by saying, “Shane acknowledges guilt, yet it intertwines the sin with your identity.” (pg. 140). A big thing is guilt admits what you do wrong where shame will tell you, you are wrong.
We, without God’s grace, are filled with sin. We have sinned and made a lot of mistakes. There are times, even after we are saved, when we will still make the same mistakes, however, it is not the only defining trait for us anymore. Later, Giglio has a great quote about how we as people need to be defined. It says, “God changes your identity. The enemy wants to define you by your scars. Jesus wants to define you by His scars.” (pg. 148). God has changed you. God has made you a whole new creation. Therefore, this feeling of sin and shame should not be a part of your new identity.
This is brought up many times in scripture. For some examples, there is Galatians 2:20, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 6:15, John 3:6, and 2 Corinthians 5:14-15. However, the verse I want to highlight in this blog post is Philippians 1:6 which says, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” I love this verse because it is a good reminder that we can be confident in the work he has done for us and the work he continues to do.
I have a tendency to be filled with shame. I can sometimes really struggle being too hard on myself, especially after I have failed something at work that I was working on. I want to do everything just right or just perfectly, so I am upset when I make a mistake. Suddenly I have moments where I am talking bad about myself and I feel as though I am a bad worker. However, in reality, I made a mistake, and there are many opportunities for me to learn from these mistakes and to grow, therefore not needing to be filled with shame. I don’t need to hold this over my head for an extended period of time.
When we are constantly filled with shame, that is not the Lord, Jesus Christ talking to us. This is the enemy or Satan talking to us and telling us we are bad or not anything God wants us to be. He is the one who is constantly going into our brains and sitting at our tables trying to tell us we don’t belong with the Lord. There is no way God would say this to us because we were created in Him and for Him and because we have been saved and made clean by Him. He wouldn’t take that time if he didn’t want you.
The challenge for you this week is to spend time identifying anything you have shame in. What is a time when you tend to feel shame or insecurity? When are the times you talk bad about yourself for an extended period of time? What are the things you say or can’t forgive yourself for? It is important to recognize these moments. It is important to realize the times we struggle with shame. It is the only way we can start to fight the enemy on this matter and get Satan away from our table.
One of my favorite verses I believe people need to hear on a regular basis is Psalm 139: 13-14 which says, “For you created my inner being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” You were created delicately and uniquely by our Father, creator. Because of this, we need to be reminded God doesn’t want us to talk badly about ourselves. He wants us to focus on Him and grow in Him, not be filled with shame. Go in peace of mind everyone!
Colossians 3:23 Blog 