Shame is different than guilt.
Guilt is when you did something wrong and you haven’t repented yet. Maybe you have a hard time admitting when you do something wrong because you are afraid of punishment; or because you don’t deeply understand what forgiveness really looks like. Maybe you haven’t experienced the freedom that comes from letting go of something you did wrong.
But Shame…. Shame isn’t that you did something wrong. At its deep, deep core shame tells you that you ARE something wrong. That you are a failure, that you will never do anything right, that you make a mess wherever you turn. That no one could ever love you because you are a mistake.
Shame began in the garden when Adam and Eve discovered that they were naked. It wasn’t the sin of disobedience that made them run and hide from God. It was that they discovered they were naked…. “They were ashamed.”
Did you notice what shame did? It made them hide from God. Today it still does the same. When shame creeps in on its little, slimy tiptoes and begins to dwell in your heart, it makes you run away from God. It never brings you closer to Him, never helps you repent, never helps you know His love and forgiveness.
The same is true for children. If we make them feel ashamed for who they are, they will run from God, and they will run from us. It’s His kindness that leads us to repentance, the Scripture tells us. When we have a heart of kindness and compassion even in the midst of someone else’s mistakes, they will be led closer to us and to the One who can help take it away.
So how do we get free from the slime monster of shame?
First, confess to a friend that you have been feeling shame, let them pray over your heart. Surround yourself with people who will build you up and speak Truth over you.
Choose to speak Scripture over your heart daily, speak life, and shut down the voice of shame whenever it pops up.
Believe that you are wanted and that you are here for a purpose.
If you have been trapped by slimy shame, you can set up a one on one emotional release and spiritual healing session (called “Anointed to Soar) with me so we can get to the root of shame and break the chains it has held over you!
Click on THIS PAGE and make an appointment!
If you are in the process of overcoming heavy emotions (or would like to be!) I have a Facebook group HERE that you can join. We walk through healing together.
Guilt is when you did something wrong and you haven’t repented yet. Maybe you have a hard time admitting when you do something wrong because you are afraid of punishment; or because you don’t deeply understand what forgiveness really looks like. Maybe you haven’t experienced the freedom that comes from letting go of something you did wrong.
But Shame…. Shame isn’t that you did something wrong. At its deep, deep core shame tells you that you ARE something wrong. That you are a failure, that you will never do anything right, that you make a mess wherever you turn. That no one could ever love you because you are a mistake.
Shame began in the garden when Adam and Eve discovered that they were naked. It wasn’t the sin of disobedience that made them run and hide from God. It was that they discovered they were naked…. “They were ashamed.”
Did you notice what shame did? It made them hide from God. Today it still does the same. When shame creeps in on its little, slimy tiptoes and begins to dwell in your heart, it makes you run away from God. It never brings you closer to Him, never helps you repent, never helps you know His love and forgiveness.
The same is true for children. If we make them feel ashamed for who they are, they will run from God, and they will run from us. It’s His kindness that leads us to repentance, the Scripture tells us. When we have a heart of kindness and compassion even in the midst of someone else’s mistakes, they will be led closer to us and to the One who can help take it away.
So how do we get free from the slime monster of shame?
First, confess to a friend that you have been feeling shame, let them pray over your heart. Surround yourself with people who will build you up and speak Truth over you.
Choose to speak Scripture over your heart daily, speak life, and shut down the voice of shame whenever it pops up.
Believe that you are wanted and that you are here for a purpose.
If you have been trapped by slimy shame, you can set up a one on one emotional release and spiritual healing session (called “Anointed to Soar) with me so we can get to the root of shame and break the chains it has held over you!
Click on THIS PAGE and make an appointment!
If you are in the process of overcoming heavy emotions (or would like to be!) I have a Facebook group HERE that you can join. We walk through healing together.
Today when I walked out of my room to go have my quiet time in my prayer corner I smelled a horrible stench. It was so horrible, it kept me from walking straight to my chair. I HAD to figure out where the smell was coming from!
As I got closer to the kitchen, I thought maybe it was the chicken bucket. We keep a bucket of scraps to supplement our chicken feed. So I put the bucket outside to be taken to the chickens and went down to pray. I came back up awhile later and as I opened the door, I was hit in the face with this hideous smell! OK, it wasn't the chicken bucket, and I WAS going to figure out what it was. I walked toward the pantry and the smell got stronger... it must be rotten potatoes!
Even now, I bet some of you can smell it as I mention it. The smell is quite distinct and unmistakable!
So I searched through the potato box to see if I could figure it out. Nope! Nothing there! I searched around awhile longer, I knew it was there somewhere, but I finally had to give up. I had way too much to do to keep wasting time like this.
Awhile later, as the smell got stronger, I enlisted Gary's help. He agreed it had to be a potato, so he started moving heavy things around. WE FOUND IT! Hidden behind a 50 lb bucket of rice, not just one rotten potato, but an ENTIRE bag of potatoes that had turned to complete liquid!! How did we not notice the smell before? How could that have been hidden for so long?
Then I started musing.... so often we think we look OK from the outside, everything seems to be in order. We've got it all together, everything in its place. But we know that underneath, hiding away, there is something off. And though we think we're hiding it, the smell of something being "not quite right" lingers.
Everyone forgets a hidden potato every now and again, or we wouldn't all know what it smells like. But it's when we keep ignoring the problem that the stench becomes too strong. That's when we might need some help from a friend. We might need to humble ourselves and see if we can get support in "rooting" out the issue.
The longer a rotten potato, or a bad attitude, or an angry heart, or a heart that won't forgive keeps hidden, the worse the problem becomes. The initial stink is pretty yucky, but when it's gone you'll be SO relieved!!
As I got closer to the kitchen, I thought maybe it was the chicken bucket. We keep a bucket of scraps to supplement our chicken feed. So I put the bucket outside to be taken to the chickens and went down to pray. I came back up awhile later and as I opened the door, I was hit in the face with this hideous smell! OK, it wasn't the chicken bucket, and I WAS going to figure out what it was. I walked toward the pantry and the smell got stronger... it must be rotten potatoes!
Even now, I bet some of you can smell it as I mention it. The smell is quite distinct and unmistakable!
So I searched through the potato box to see if I could figure it out. Nope! Nothing there! I searched around awhile longer, I knew it was there somewhere, but I finally had to give up. I had way too much to do to keep wasting time like this.
Awhile later, as the smell got stronger, I enlisted Gary's help. He agreed it had to be a potato, so he started moving heavy things around. WE FOUND IT! Hidden behind a 50 lb bucket of rice, not just one rotten potato, but an ENTIRE bag of potatoes that had turned to complete liquid!! How did we not notice the smell before? How could that have been hidden for so long?
Then I started musing.... so often we think we look OK from the outside, everything seems to be in order. We've got it all together, everything in its place. But we know that underneath, hiding away, there is something off. And though we think we're hiding it, the smell of something being "not quite right" lingers.
Everyone forgets a hidden potato every now and again, or we wouldn't all know what it smells like. But it's when we keep ignoring the problem that the stench becomes too strong. That's when we might need some help from a friend. We might need to humble ourselves and see if we can get support in "rooting" out the issue.
The longer a rotten potato, or a bad attitude, or an angry heart, or a heart that won't forgive keeps hidden, the worse the problem becomes. The initial stink is pretty yucky, but when it's gone you'll be SO relieved!!
Here at our house we have really hard water! Otherwise our water is great! We have a well; no fluoride, no chlorine, no nasty city additives at all.... but oh. so. hard!
What this means is that our appliances have to work harder, and so sometimes the dishes don't get really clean. I'm not the only one who does dishes in our home, so sometimes a really dirty cup, dish or utensil might escape notice and get put away.
What this means is that our appliances have to work harder, and so sometimes the dishes don't get really clean. I'm not the only one who does dishes in our home, so sometimes a really dirty cup, dish or utensil might escape notice and get put away.
If you have a favorite tea/coffee cup, you know that you want that cup to be ready when you are. You don't want to wake up and find your cup coated with some kind of muck that didn't get washed out in the dishwasher, and then you have to stop to clean it before you can have your first cup of eye-opening coffee or peace-giving tea. When I'm first awake, I need to just grab my tea to get to my quiet time with the Father. I don't want to stop first to clean things.
But here's the rub.... Sometimes we want to be filled with the Father, with his life-giving presence and His overflowing peace. But our heart is so hard that the muck from the day before didn't get thoroughly washed out. It's nasty to wake up to a dirty cup, but it's much worse to not even notice that the cup is dirty! Then you fill it up and take that first scummy sip, and.... YUCK!
Have you considered that you could be mucked up with yucky lies that you've believed or wounds that you've inherited and are passing on to others?
Father has pure water He wants to fill you with, but if you still have nastiness around the edges, that water won't stay pure for long. And, yes, it's noticeable to others when our pure water is mucked up, it's not something any of us can hide for long.
You are one of the Father's favorite cups! He wants to use you! You need to be ready to be used when He wants to fill you and use you for His purposes. Are you dealing with hardness that needs to be softened? Are you sitting there with dirty old scum instead of getting yourself clean so you can be used?
The beauty is, He'll do the washing if you will bring yourself to Him and ask Him to get you ready. He knows the best method for scum removal, He's a specialist!
