Shame Off You!

Sharon JaynesEnough, God's love, Identity in Christ, Knowing God, Living Free, When You Don't Like Your Story 79 Comments

Shame Off You Blog Post

I remember as a little girl, hiding under the covers of my bed, trying to shut out my parents’ yelling and screaming in the next room. I heard bad words. I didn’t know what some of them meant, but I did know how they made me feel. Dirty. The next morning, I awoke to the aftermath of the night’s tirade—Mom’s black eye, Dad’s crying remorse, furniture tossed and broken—and those bad words bouncing around my little-girl head.

Nevertheless, I was expected to put on my school clothes, brush my hair, eat my cereal, brush my teeth, and sit in class with my little friends as if nothing had happened the night before. The shame of what I’d seen and heard clung to me like the stink of a Friday night fish fry. Maybe no one else could smell it, but I sure did.

Never once did I wonder what went on in anyone else’s home. I was sure it couldn’t be as bad as mine. Shame wrapped its talons around my neck and squeezed. I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I felt I was wrong. My family was all wrong. And I suffered in silence.

Whether it attacks a curly-headed first-grader sitting at her desk, or an eighty-year-old woman sitting in a church pew with her friends, shame is a universal destroyer of destinies, dignity, and callings. It whispers, You’re the only one. No one is as bad as you. If they only knew. Shame keeps its victims silent.

Where did shame come from? It came from the Garden in Genesis 3. The writer of Genesis wrote about Adam and Eve on the dawn of their creation, “Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame” (2:25). The biblical writer could have used a variety of words to describe what Adam and Eve did not feel. They felt no fear, no hunger, no anxiety, no thirst, no loneliness, no lack. But the writer chose the word shame. It’s a significant choice as it foreshadows what happened next.

After they disobeyed God in Genesis 3, they felt shame for the first time. “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves” (3:6–7). The Hebrew word for shame is bosh, which means to be “utterly dejected and to be ashamed in front of one another.” That’s what they felt. Maybe you’ve felt it, too.

But the Bible tells us that because of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and our decision to follow Him, we never need to live under the shadow of shame again. His blood is the cure for the infection of Eden.

The Bible gives us this promise: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Guess what “all” means in that verse? All means all and that’s all all means.

When we confess our sin, the next step is to believe God tells the truth about removing the reason for the shame. God says, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more” (Isaiah 43:25). Do you believe God tells the truth—that you are completely forgiven and free of accusation? That’s the question, isn’t it?

Here’s another question: Can we be saved from sin but still enslaved to shame? Absolutely. Jesus removes the reason for shame; it’s up to us to walk away from the season of shame.

Salvation does not instantly inoculate anyone from feelings of shame, whether it is from something done to you or something you’ve done. But feelings don’t always line up with facts. We must decide to walk away from that shame place, regardless of what our feelings are telling us at the time.

The Bible says, “Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame” (Psalm 34:5 NIV). That word “radiant” in the original text means “radiant with joy, to sparkle, to be cheerful.”

I want to be sparkly, don’t you? I am so glad that Jesus endured the shame so that we don’t have to live under its cloud any longer.

Shame off me! Shame off you! Amen!

Dear Lord, thank You for enduring the shame to remove mine. Thank You that I never have to be ashamed of my past hurts or habits because You have forgiven me and washed away my sin. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

What do you need to say to your shame today? If you’re ready to come out from the cloud of shame and believe you are completely forgiven once and for all, leave a comment and say, “I’m free!”

When You Don't Like Your Story

 

Learning to live free of shame is one of the ways that you can change the ending to your story. Learn how to get unstuck from condemning thoughts and become the radiant woman you were meant to be. Check out Sharon’s book, When You Don’t Like Your Story: Your Worst Chapters Can Become Your Greatest Victories and begin the journey today!

 

 

 

 

 

© 2022 by Sharon Jaynes. All rights reserved.

 

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Comments 79

  9. I truly loved this reading, why because all of us have come from some sort of shame, and you are right can we walk away and truly know that Jesus has forgiven us, we know intellectually, but we need to really read the word and eat the bread and know it. That is were I am in my walk trying to listen to His words to that I shine and learn to be sparkly. It is a one day at a time process.

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  18. I’m free thank God🙏♥️. After reading this mornings Shame off you- I realize the truth of what Jesus did for me and all of us.
    Thank you Sharon. May this day be a new & better start of God being in my life 🙏

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  22. I was driving in my car one afternoon many years ago when this song by Steven Curtis Chapman suddenly came on the radio. It grabbed my heart so profoundly that I literally had to pull my car over and stop. By the end of the song I was sobbing. I had just realized I had been completely forgiven and set free from a huge shame I was carrying.. My life has never been the same since thanks be to God. I’ll never forget that moment.

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  26. I identify with this message. I “intellectually” know, after reading Gods Words that I am forgiven and do not need to feel shame any more. Although I thought this feeling (shame) would just disappear as I become stronger in my faith and closer to God-it has not, yet. I read you say I have to take the steps to change my behavior. God help me. I will continue to persevere in this.
    Thank you God for setting me FREE🙏

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  31. I hold on to my shame because I struggle with believing that my sin can so easily be forgiven! See my shame stems from my years of infidelity in my marriage. Even though I have confessed my sin to God first then to my husband, I still struggle with the shame of it. It has been 6 years since I confessed and in those 6 years my marriage has been restored, transformed into something truly beautiful! My husband has forgiven me totally and completely, but I have not forgiven myself. Todays devotion was something my weary heart needed to hear. It’s about time I step out of my shame and live in the beauty of forgiveness! Thank you Sharon! 🥰

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  32. The young sunflower tracks its face with the sun from morning to nightfall. During the evening it resets it face to the East and tracks and resets all over again. I believe that when I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, his Word and talk to Him daily it makes me radiant.
    Shine in the Son sisters in Christ!
    I am free!

    Reply

  33. The young sunflower tracks its face with the sun from morning to nightfall. During the evening it resets it face to the East and tracks and resets all over again. I believe that when I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, his Word and talk to Him daily it makes me radiant.
    Shine in the Son sisters in Christ!
    I am free!

    Reply

  34. Dear Sharon,
    Your messages are truly inspiring. I send many -if not all- of them out to friends. I get so many positive comments -and they are yours! I have a couple of your lesson books -I’m eager to get into them! I learn some much from you and Girlfriends in GOD
    Thank you,
    Ann

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  45. Wow. I needed this today!! I got pregnant in my early 20s and got kicked out of the church with no family or guidance and I’m 60 and still felt the shame of disappointing God But TODAY I am understanding that I am No longer under the shadow of shame because I had confessed my sin so many times to God and He had forgiven me but I was the one walking under a Big Black Cloud because I felt ashamed in front of church members and in front of my siblings so today I step out into the sun and allow the son Jesus and the holy spirit step fully into me. My face is radiant with the joy of forgiveness!! I..AM…FREE!!! Thank You for this amazing message

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    1. This was beautiful and no shame ever again on you. You made the RIGHT choice and did not abort her and that was a hard but AWESOME choice. The enemy blinded you all those years from the sweet blessing that you gave life. Hugs.

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    2. Thank you for making a choice to give your child life! As someone who has adopted two beautiful boys, my heart goes out to any parent who makes the decision to give life either in parenting their child or making an adoption plan! Such a beautiful story!!

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  48. Thank you Sharon for this reminder. Some church families can do more harm than good with their toxic judge mental legalism. I’ve come to realize as I mature in Christ that it is based on their own shame and fear.. Others who call themselves followers of Christ are carrying shame also. If they can point the accusing finger at the other person, they hope they can hide their own shame. Christ’s perfect love casts out fear.

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  55. I know it intellectually, but I can’t figure out how to live free of the shame of my past actions. I’ve made amends and have good relationships with my loved ones who I hurt so severely, but because they experience the effects of my actions every day, I am reminded every day of the things I did. I blame and punish myself worse than they blame and punish me despite the fact that I’m a better person than I once was. I’ve been in therapy over this for four years and I still can’t break the chains.

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  56. Was awake last night replaying parts of my life that I’m ashamed of even though it’s been years since I lived this way. This message was exactly what I needed to remind myself that I am no longer that person and have been forgiven. Now it’s up to me to walk away from the feelings of shame. I’m free

    Reply

  57. Was awake last night replaying parts of my life that I’m ashamed of even though it’s been years since I lived this way. This message was exactly what I needed to remind myself that I am no longer that person and have been forgiven. Now it’s up to me to walk away from the feelings of shame. I’m free

    Reply

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