Shame's Surprise part 2 - When Shame is No longer Your Name - Denise Pass

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

At the place of our deepest pain is our Savior, choosing to walk that path with us.

Scripture of the Day:

Isaiah 54:4

“Don’t be afraid, for you will not be put to shame! Don’t be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated! You will forget about the shame you experienced in your youth; you will no longer remember the disgrace of your abandonment. “

Sitting alone in the corner, I thought the tears would never cease. Would this stigma forever define me? Would I never again be “normal”? Why did this have to happen?

The sorrow that surrounded me engulfed me in an environment that stifled my ability to think clearly, let alone breathe. Everything was affected. Going out to run errands invited criticism when I would run into someone who judged me. Going to church hurt. I could not stop crying there, either. Worry over my children’s safety pierced my whole frame, and the shame over our circumstances? Palpable in every aspect of my life.

No matter where I went, the sting of being “that” woman – who was now divorced and had been married to someone who harmed her children – confronted me everywhere I went. Ridiculous coincidences rubbed my pain deeply into my soul.

I pinched myself as if to awaken myself from my new reality. Not me. I was the good girl who waited for marriage. Why was I not enough? We were the perfect family . . . or were we?

Traumatic circumstances have a way of changing us deeply. At first we are overcome. No words. Just shock. Then we try to find ways of coping. There has to be a way out of this pain. When our suffering carries on for a long period of time, the ability to function normally becomes almost impossible. But God.

At the place of our deepest pain is our Savior, choosing to walk that path with us. He takes our sorrow and turns it into a bittersweet joy. This is not automatic, but as we surrender our struggles over to Him, He changes our perspective and heals our broken hearts. Using the pain as a chisel to refine our vulnerabilities, He makes our shame into something beautiful we would never have become without walking through the door of pain.

But God goes one step further. The former abandonment that appeared to define us? He makes it as if it never happened – then He uses the lessons learned to help others know and experience His great love, too.

We learn to trust again, learn to love and live again without fear because our God sees us and He will never abandon or forsake us – even when we feel like the smallest most insignificant mess in the world.

In this life, we might taste of deep sorrows and walk through the pain of abandonment and suffering, but our God redeems it all and turns our shame into our vindication, all for His glory. And shame is no longer your name.

Lord, thank You for carrying our shame and taking on Yourself our sins and sorrows.