Shame is a terrible master. Those who are under its influence feel the weight of having to carry a burden they think they will never be able to open up or share with anybody. And if ever the burden unknowingly spills to others, the weight becomes heavier to carry.
Anybody who's ever had something to be ashamed of would almost always want to keep it a secret. It could be something as simple as breaking your mother's favorite flower vase (of course that's never simple) or it could also be something huge and devastating, like an extramarital affair or committing a crime.
Whatever the shameful secret may be it will always keep you living in the dark, fearing rejection, ridicule, hatred, judgment, and perhaps punishment. Don't you just want to be free from the terrible oppression brought about by shame and consequent fear?
If you do, I want to encourage you: Freedom is available for you, and it's absolutely free.
Freedom from Shame's darkness
Anyone who is ashamed of himself over something is always fearful that he will never be accepted, loved, forgiven, and appreciated. He would rather hide his shame in order to feel acceptance. But the truth is once the secrets are out the acceptance level will really change.
Thankfully, there's someone who loves and accepts us no matter what secret we keep. And He has paid for these secrets to be forgiven, the weight to be lifted, and for the oppressed to be set free.
"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way God's love is perfected in us, so that we may have boldness on the Day of Judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. Whoever fears is not perfect in love." (1 John 4:16-18)
God loves us truly. With Him there's no fear of rejection, no fear of ridicule. Yes He punishes sin because He is righteous and holy, but when He chastens us it's because He loves us – this discipline is for our own good. When all is said and done, we will know that God truly loved us, and loved us without measure (see 1 Corinthians 13:8).
Do you want to be free from the shame that you feel, the burden of shame that you carry all day long? Confess your sins to God (see 1 John 1:9). Come clean before Him. He has seen what happened to you, and still wants you to come to Him.
"And do not have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; instead, expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things are exposed when they are revealed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light." (Ephesians 5:11-13)
Come Out
Stop hiding your sins and your shameful secrets, my friend. God loves you, and wants you to be free. Christ paid the price for you to be washed clean, your sins to be forgiven, for you to be restored to God as His child. Loosen your grip on your past, repent of your sins, and come to Jesus and make Him your Lord.
Follow Him. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light (see Matthew 11:30).
