Many people experience shame at some point in their life. I
often feel shame as I’m not what I hope to be. I’m not thin enough, smart
enough, good enough, loving enough, athletic enough, and many other enoughs.
Actually, I go farther than not being enough of something to holding the
position that I’m bad, ugly, fat, cynical, unloving, stupid, weak and out of
shape. I identify myself by those things. I say, “I am .”
instead of I’ve done something bad or unloving. I’ve learned I’m not supposed
to do that, however what replaces the feelings of shame is a question that was
answered in my Quiet Time with God this morning.
Psalm 34:5 tells me how to avoid feeling ashamed: “They
looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces shall never be ashamed.” [NASB]
The NIV version of the Bible says it a little differently: “Those who look to
him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” The answer comes
from looking to God for my value and self-worth. He sees me totally different
than I see myself.
When I’m looking to God for my value, I am radiant. Radiant
means, “sending out light; shining or glowing brightly.”
That’s what I want to be: Shining and sending out the light of God to others.
When I’m filled with shame and seeing myself from that point of view, it is
much harder to shine forth God’s light into the world. Another Psalm puts it
this way: “Indeed, none of those who wait for Thee will be ashamed.” [Psalm
25:3a] Or in the NIV: “No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame.”
The Amplified Bible adds some dimension to what waiting for Thee means. “Yes,
let none who trust and wait hopefully and look for You be put to shame or be
disappointed;” Trust, wait hopefully, and look to Him.
That’s the remedy for shame. I need
to look to God and His Word, trust what He says about me, and patiently wait as
I place all my hope in Him. Then shame and disappointment will not be an
overwhelming feeling in my life, and it will show on my face.
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