When was the last time you made a bad choice?
A really bad choice. A choice you made out of fear.
A choice in which you disregarded and willfully disobeyed God.
A choice that left you humiliated, broken, and ashamed.
The choice to sin.
If you are like me, you have struggled with the guilt and shame of sin at some point in your life.
In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve came face to face with a choice, never counting on how far-reaching or devastating the sinful choice would become.
Then the man [Adam] and his wife [Eve] heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the orchard. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” The man replied, “I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” – Genesis 3:8-10
Genesis 3:8-10 reveals humanity’s first introduction to fear, guilt, and shame. Adam and Eve hid from God and from each other. They made excuses for their sin. Ultimately, their sin caused them to doubt God’s love for them and His goodness toward them.
Sin is subtle that way. Often, we don’t even realize we have fallen into sin until it is too late. Even after we sin, Satan, a master manipulator, tries to convince us we are no longer worthy of God’s love or redemption. He convinces us God cannot and will not cover us.
The Lord God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. – Genesis 3:21
Adam and Eve were fearful, hidden, naked, and ashamed. God pursued them in their sin, graciously and mercifully covering them with animal skins. Yes. They would inevitably face the consequences of sin, but God’s love for them would never fail.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I [Jesus] have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. – John 10:10
Why is it so easy for us to forget that God loves us even at our very worst? Why do we fall for the lie that God is willing to throw us away the moment we fail Him? Satan desires for us to suffer with the isolation of shame so he can keep us trapped in our fear of judgment, rejection, and condemnation.
For believers, God is near to us, even when we sin. God is our Potter, and we are the clay forever in His hands (Isaiah 64:8). He is always molding, reshaping, and transforming us into His new and treasured creation. The moment we sin, God is there ready to graciously and mercifully repair and restore our damaged cracks and fragments. As believers, we must develop the discipline to run boldly to God in our sin just as swiftly as we run to Him in our joy.
How can we trust God’s lovingkindness even when we sin? Instead of the sacrificed animal skins of Eden, God has covered us once and for all with His ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:25, Hebrews 9:11-14). In Revelation 3:18 Jesus says it Himself – He is the One who covers our nakedness with His righteousness.
The cure to the guilt and shame of sin is to allow God to cover us. Rather than covering ourselves with the fig leaves of isolation, hiding, and making excuses, we simply expose ourselves. We run to God as we are – naked and helpless. We cry out to God in our need and allow Him to remind us of the sacrifice He has already made for us.
Jesus died for our sin and our shame. We simply have to believe it!
In what ways are you struggling with the shame of sin? How can we pray for you?
Peace and grace to you,
Week 1 Challenge:
Do you struggle with the shame of sin, of barrenness in some area of your life, or of feelings of not being enough? This week, write out a proclamation to put in your Bible, on your mirror in your bathroom to read each morning as you get ready, or on a notecard to place in your car.
I will no longer feel shame in my life over _____________________ because God ________________.
Week 1 Reading Plan:
Week 1 Memory Verse:
Have you purchased your Shame Breaker journal yet? Not only will you find all of the daily reading passages and SOAP journaling pages, but you’ll have each of the daily devotionals in printed form–no need to check the app on your phone while working through your study!
Don’t forget, the Bridge Reading Plan is only available in the printed journals! The Bridge is a two-week long reading plan designed to bridge the gap between two studies. In the Shame Breaker journal you’ll find the Bridge Reading Plan along with two weeks worth of SOAP journaling pages and daily Scripture reading! Don’t miss this! The Bridge reading plan will walk through the entire Book of Psalms during 2021. This plan is found only in the study journals, so grab one today! You don’t want to miss out!
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Order your Shame Breaker and Shame Breaker for Kids journals here!
Beautiful post. I am struggling with shame around developing anorexia when I was in high school. The past 2 years God awoke me to the destruction I was wreaking on my body and the relationships in my life. I asked for forgiveness and am on the recovery journey. I know I am forgiven, but I am struggling to shake this deep sense of shame, I have lost dear friendships and am struggling to regain my sense of selfworth and confidence even though I know God loves me dearly.
May you see yourself as God sees you through His eyes of love and grace. I pray this will be a journey of healing as we study together.
God loves you dearly. And he sent Jesus to wipe and destroy every shame. That is the truth we choose to dwell on. Thank you so much for sharing with us. Dear Jesus you are the great shame Breaker. You do not cast away anyone that comes to you. So I come to you with your daughter and ask that you always please remind her of your sacrifice for her that took away every shame. Thank you for the work you have done in her life. We love you LORD in Jesus name amen.
Sweet Barbara, you are in my prayers today!!! I, too, walked through anorexia in my late teens and have been living with some of the consequences.
Are you part of our Online Bible Study Group? I would love to make sure you are in our online community to walk through this study with others! Here is a link if you’d like to join! 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LoveGodGreatlyBibleStudies
I struggle with the sin of legalism. I am afraid to live by grace because I’m scared if I do, I will end up walking away from God. I’m afraid if I sin, I will no longer have a good relationship with Him. I’m afraid if I walk away, He won’t save me. I know legalism is not how God wants me to live. Daily I confess this sin and ask for God to heal me from it. I am ashamed by all my sins and am also ashamed that I am legalistic because that is a sin, too. I get afraid that legalism is a sign that I’m not a real Christian. I believe that salvation is by grace through face. I prayed and told God I was trusting Jesus for my salvation. But I still have doubts and struggle with shame.
Dear Aunna,
Thank you for being so open and vulnerable to share. When we head into a shame spiral, one of the best things we can do is to solely focus on God’s promises… while the voices in your head whisper the lie that God had not completely forgiven you, God’s Word says differently.
God says…Aunna, I have blotted out your sins and dissolved them like the mist. I have redeemed you. (Isaiah 44:22)
God says…Aunna, you belong to Me and no one can snatch you from My hand. (John 10:29)
God says…Aunna, your old life has died and your new life is hidden with Christ in Me. (Colossians 3:3)
God says…Aunna, cast all your worries and fears on Me, for I care about you. (1 Peter 5:7)
There will be those days when the struggle with shame becomes an all out battle..a spiritual and mental battle. But our weapon is the Word of God and His promises.
I, too, experience those battles with my mind far too often. There were times when I could barely get out of bed from shame and self-loathing. The Holy Spirit had to develop, grow, and strengthen the discipline within me to begin to rehearse and recite God’s loving promises towards myself. I pray that the Holy Spirit continues to work mightily on your behalf to defeat these ungodly lies that tell you that you are unloved.
I will be praying for you and with you as you endure this spiritual battle. Remember that you never battle alone…we are your sisters in Christ – here to pray with you, pray for you, and walk with you hand in hand as you endure. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it in the end. God always is.
No matter what lies Satan keeps telling you. No matter what lies you keep telling yourself. God is for you and loves you – whether you success or fail, whether you sin or not, whether you doubt His love for you or not. God doesn’t change! He will never leave you nor forsake you! There is absolutely nothing you can do to make God love you even more than He already does. There is absolutely nothing you can do to make God love you less than He already does. Simply believe Him. You are saved! You are loved! You are His!
Praying for you dear sister,
Terria (LGG Encourager) ❤️
Terria, thank you for praying for me. It means so much.
I have so many examples of shame in my life. Poor choices. I’ve made choices I thought God led me to …. for one example I dated a man I thought God put in my life. I put up with abuse that I am ashamed of. I am left feeling unworthy of love and unloveable , ugly and disgusting
Penny,
I am so so sorry for all that you have gone through! Thank you for your courage and willingness to share your hurt and pain with us.
I am so sorry for all of the weapons that have pierced your soul over the years. The fact is that even though God removes the knives and daggers and fiery darts from our flesh, the wounds remain until He heals them. But, thankfully, His promise in Psalm 34:18 and Psalm 147:3 is that He will heal every hurt, every pain and mend all of your wounds.
The Good News is that God removes the weapons AND heals those wounds! God does redeem us in our sin. God does cover us with the righteousness and worthiness of His Son, Jesus. When we surrender our lives to Jesus, confess our sin, and believe His work on the Cross – His death for our sin, His torture for our iniquity…we are saved. Your shameful choices are not yours anymore…they belong to Jesus. And they died with Him on the Cross.
The sin, the shame, the guilt, the fear..it is no longer yours! It all belongs to Jesus! You belong to Jesus! And you are loved beyond your capacity to contain it!
We will be praying for you daily through this journey! If you have not already, please sign up with one of the online study groups at https://www.facebook.com/groups/LoveGodGreatlyBibleStudies
It is times like this, in the midst of battle when we need to know that we are not alone. Satan wants us to suffer in silence and in shame. We are not the only ones struggling, not the only ones suffering in silence, not the only ones unable to break our shame. We need our sisters in Christ to come along side us with prayer, encouragement, and love.
I pray that God gives you the faith to trust that He has redeemed you, that He has forgiven you, that He has forgotten your sin, that He has freed you, that He loves you no matter what you have done, and that He is always with you and always for you! Even when you don’t see it, even when you don’t think it, even when you don’t believe it, God loves you and His love never fails, it will never run out, and His love will never give up on you! ❤️
Praying for you my dear sister,
Terria (LGG Encourager)
I know I’m a little late starting this Bible Study. But thank you so much! I like others am stuck in feeling guilty and shame. For me, I don’t know how to fully move past this. About 2 years ago I heard the Lord clearly tell me to go speak to my father, about the love of our Lord. See my father knew very well who God was, he knew all about Jesus, Heaven and Hell. He was very against all things God. He was not a “bad” man, by worldly standards anyway. But he spoke clearly that he had no interest in our Lord. If anything was brought up, he’d laugh, roll his eyes and say he didn’t want to hear it. Well, he’d been sick for a year or more before the Lord told me to speak to him. I had been sick, had bronchitis, but wasn’t sure if I was contagious, so I procrastinated. And to be honest, I was afraid to try to talk to my dad again. I had tried to say small things, but I knew the Lord was telling me to say much more this time.
So, I didn’t go. I put it off… No one called me when my father went into the hospital, no one called me when he was in a coma, and worst no one called me when he died. All within a month of when the Lord told me to go speak to him.
I have so much guilt – it’s too much at times. I don’t know where my father is spending eternity, that is difficult enough. But to add to it, the guilt of disobeying the Lord, when he told me to go and I allowed fear to stop me. I am fearful God will not be able to forgive this. I am fearful my father’s blood my be on my hands. I’ve prayed, I’ve asked for forgiveness. Sometimes I feel a peace, but then this fear that I’m not loved by God any more fills me.
Please if you see this, will you please pray with me. This is the first time I’ve shared this, and asked others to pray with me.
Thank you so much for your prayers.
Becky
Dear Becky,
My heart goes out to you. I understand your grief. God is faithful and His desire is that all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth so He would have given your dad every opportunity to be saved. My mom was killed by a drunk driver and I do not know the state of her soul so I do get the anguish. It took time and prayer and repeated surrender to the Lord but now I have come to a place where I trust His sovereignty and His deep, deep love for each and every person. As for your guilt, God promises to forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness when we confess our sin. Since you have asked forgiveness, God has forgiven completely and forever. Accept it from Him. Jesus died for your sin and God has clothed you in Christ’s righteousness. Believe it. Run boldly to God’s throne of grace and claim it. He has invited you. He wants you to come. Dear sister, I love you as a sister in Christ and I pray you will accept God’s forgiveness and trust Him with your dad’s soul. Please let me know if I can do something for you…listening ear etc.
My shame from sin comes from acting in fear verses trusting God. He had moved us to a different state a few years back and through the struggle and grief of change we were finding a place of ministry and serving. My husband was offered a job two years later back at his old company and to move back to our former state, and he turned it down because we felt God’s calling on us to stay. But then all the steps it would have taken to continue to make it worked overwhelmed me and instead of trusting I acted in fear and began to shut down emotionally. So my husband went back for the job. Ever since we moved back, in the beginning I know exactly how Adam and Eve felt. I look around at the world around me and it’s not suppose to be this way. I have tried so hard to fit and belong back here and over and over again I don’t feel like I fit. Yet this is where we are now and I need to some how make this work. I acted in fear instead of faith and these are the consequences of that decision. I struggle with so much doubt that God would ever offer me something like what we left behind. I see myself as a horrible investment as a friend and in ministry. I feel like I need to constantly apologize for myself, that I am in the way. My mind battles with the identity that it is my job to make sure I don’t ever become a burden to someone else. I feel like I am a burden and it’s better if I just get out of the way.
I know in my head there are so many lies about myself in what I just wrote. But I don’t know how to make my heart believe anything different. I know I need to guard my heart. So how did all these lies and sin and shame I pour over myself take over.
I want to belong to the body of Christ. I want to use my gifts and abilities and be an active member.
I just feel like I am staring at a broken picture that my sin made get shattered beyond repair and I don’t know where to even start for the restoration of it.