Shame Costs. Grace Comes.

Hey y’all! It’s your girl Julie, back with another segment of “Salty & Lit,” and in today’s post, we’re going to be talking about shame. Let’s pray.

Dear Heavenly Father, You are so good. Thank You for covering our shame and letting us know that Your grace covers each and every one of us. Help us to know Your truth, which is that grace covers all. I thank You Lord for Your love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Shame, according to the King James Bible Dictionary, means “a painful sensation excited by a consciousness of guilt, or of having done something which injures reputation; or by of that which nature nature or modesty prompts us to conceal. Shame is particularly excited by the disclosure of actions which, in the view of men, are mean and degrading. Hence it it is often or always manifested by a downcast look or by blushes, called confusion of face.”

Shame, in other words, is a feeling of guilt based on something someone did that might hurt their image and can be outwardly expressed through “sad” facial expressions. Shame is a feeling, but it doesn’t have to be a feeling that runs us.

In the Garden, Adam and Eve felt shame. When they sinned against God by eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they felt shame because they discovered they were naked. They were already naked, but it was when they realized they were, they hid. God did a great job helping them out, in that He used animal skin to sew clothes for them, and He promised a redemptive work through His Son Jesus (all found in Genesis 3). But what about for us? What do we do when shame comes in our lives? Do we run and hide, or do we run to the Father? When we run to the Father, we’re exposing shame for what it is, but when we run and hide, we’re keeping shame hidden as well.

God is a God who cares about our feelings. He says we can cast our cares onto Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7), but His Word also says in 1 John 3:20 that even if our hearts condemn us [or make us feel ashamed (Julie translation)], God is greater than our feelings.” Friend, God loves you so much, and He knows what you’re dealing with. His grace covers your shame, not making it a license to freely sin, but to know that you can run back to His arms and when you do, you can receive forgiveness and move on. I pray that you receive the forgiveness from the Father in this moment. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

That’s all I have for today! Don’t forget these three things: you are loved, salty, and lit! Talk to you soon! 🧡