Photo Credit: Naomi Hartnagel
Romans 8:1 – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Have you ever been in a place where you could sense this overwhelming shame that has crept into your mindset? I’m not talking about simple feelings of guilt. This is a full-blown assault that happens in the form of voices in your mind and impressions on your heart. It’s a lingering emotion that claims that you are insignificant. You come away not seeing your intrinsic value and worth to God and to others.
Much of my journey has been spent down this road. It’s a place that I don’t long for not only for myself, but also for others. I wouldn’t wish this battle on my worst enemy! The deepest places take you down the road of such irrational thought that it becomes easy to mix up what the mind says as God’s truth.
There’s good news today – as there is every day! God’s Word, the Bible, tells us how to overcome these thoughts of insignificance and points us to His truth for our lives. While the Bible declares that we are to take captive of every thought and make it obedient to Christ, there may be some of us that might say that we can’t even take captive of ANY thought. I’m not a doctor, nor do I even pretend to be one, but part of my journey included needing to find some medical assistance in order to be able to rightly identify God’s truth for my life!
While guilt is a good thing, a Godly thing because it points us back to our need for Jesus, shame is something that doesn’t come from the Lord. It’s not a product of Heaven because it destroys and distracts the Godly work that the Holy Spirit wants to do inside. Shame puts the focus back on ourselves instead of pointing to the incredible significance of the work God already did for us!
Remember His truth for your life, but also remember to engage His truth so that you can become more familiar with God’s thoughts, opinions, perspectives, truths, and values for your life! Keep on, keeping on and fight the good fight!
Much Love, Jay