Everybody’s got a story. There’s many of us who are not proud of our story. It’s because there are parts of our story that are painful or make us feel ashamed. There are things that we did or others did that we wish never happened, family secrets or just our secret, but they are a part of our story nonetheless. So how do we deal with the feeling of shame?
Shame is this emotion that makes us think something is wrong about ourselves. It’s different from guilt which is what someone feels when they think something they’ve done is wrong. When there is shame, we tend to hide. We don’t want to be seen or don’t want anyone to know because we don’t want to be looked at as bad. There’s a reason for that.
Shame has to do with our name. Another word for shame is ignominy and it means “no name,” or “lacking a good reputation.” When we feel shame, we feel like we won’t be liked or accepted because we no longer have a good reputation. Thank God that it’s not our reputation that saves us. Thank God that there is covering for the shame through Jesus.
Jesus made Himself of no reputation when He came from heaven and became one of us, and He didn’t stop there. He humbled himself to the point of death on the cross, bearing all of our sin and shame, while experiencing shame Himself as He went through the process. He did it all so we wouldn’t have to. Now His story has become the reason why we can glory in Him. It’s time for our story to bring Him glory.
Come to Jesus with the shame. Come to Him with all the hurt and pain of the situations that caused the shame and give it to Him. We can ask Jesus to heal us and cover us from it all. And He will. Let Jesus put His Name on it. His Name has an excellent reputation. Exchange the shame for His Name. He’s got it covered.