The Problem of Shame

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God…

And hope maketh not ashamed. Rom 5:1-5  

Shame is a Condemnation

The answer of shame for the believer rests in the above verses. In the previous chapter of Romans 7 Paul speaks volubly of the indwelling nature of sin.

I know good.

I want to do good.

But a lot of times I fail in my effort to be good.

And part of the reaction I feel is shame.

True there is a time when shame is deserved, and there’s a time when it is misplaced.

Sin and Shame

Shame in its depth is a work of sin.

It is the condemning voice of the devil.

Sin distorts the mind.

Sin is wont to exaggerate things.

Sin shifts the blame.

In Adam I can detect the early awakening of shame. He had loved God, and he had failed God. Sin gives birth to shame. We are left naked. And only the skin of God can cover our sin. A son of God has no shame. There is no shame or fear in love.

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 

Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Psa 32:1-2  

Shame and Pride

Shame may be the work of pride.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

It can be a refusal to believe God.

It can be the sin of limiting God.

It is when I feel the urge to measure things by my own standard and not that of God.

It can be born of the temptation to be over righteous. When a man feels God’s salvation work is not quite enough, but that he must add to it by, for example, extreme self-mortification.

I can convince myself that I have failed and I am completely beyond salvation. And the result is the rising millstone of shame.

Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? 

Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? Ecc 7:16-17 

Other times we feel shame because we feel we did more, or we feel we did less. And the result is always a rollercoaster of warring emotions.

But God has shown us the way to overcome shame. It is in every word he has spoken. It is there in every instruction on how to combat sin.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 

For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Joh 3:17-21  

And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 

For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 

Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. 1Jn 3:19-21  

Shame and Self-Loathing

I pray that I am not passing judgment here. In writing this piece I may as well have been writing about myself. Personally, there are instances when I feel like an emotional springboard. I feel shame right and left. I feel shame when I am standing up, and I feel shame when I am sitting down.

It is the evil day Paul famously spoke of in Ephesians 6. And there’s no way of winning that battle except through the taking up the whole armour of God.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Eph 6:10-13  

Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 

Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Rom 8:33-34

Shame and Doubt

Shame can easily become chronic if left untreated, and that can impede the development or growth of the whole person. Shame can literally stop life. It will happen if we listen to people, if we worry about people, if we fear people, if we make lies our refuge…

True salvation must involve death. Dying to the world and dying to self. When we fail to do that we open ourselves to the relentless attacks by the devil.

When that happens remember your position in Christ. Remember God in his promises. Cheer up! You are a child of God, and you are of more value than many sparrows.   

 This is Why We Cry

The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: 

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. Isa 40:6-8  

Crying is Good

In one sense we cry every day. But not all tears are from the eyes. On the surface everybody hates lies. Lies sting. We love truth instead, we affirm it, we crave it, we swear by it. Yet it’s not the lies that produce the most tears, but the truth.

Hence every day we juggle with hard facts. The greatest, and sorest, and the bloodiest battles that we fight, are not fought in the open, but they are fought inside us.

Their scars leave a permanent mark.

But we are adept at covering them.

That’s why we laugh, when in truth, what we want is to cry. Then there are days when we act bold and say what is in our mind, and that act we shall remember it from day into night, and again in the day… until the heart is torn from the body, it is lifted, and it is thrown down into the dust.

We juggle, and tremble, because we are not in control. We feel light, whereas what we want is to hold onto something heavy, like a rock.

We want to be steady.

We want stability.

But what we feel is chaos.

God is that rock. Thank God for that rock!

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 

For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. 

I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah. 

For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. Psa 61:2-5  

Life Ought to be Easy

Life is easier when you have someone you know, someone you trust, someone you fear; I mean the fear which is wrapped tightly around the heart, and which the great God calls wisdom.

We are a roller-coaster of contradictions.

And yet we want to be loved as we are.

We want to be taken home, but it is to the house we know, and the house which we have built with our own hands.

But the weather changes. The wind huffs and screams. The dust turns into mud, and the trees are shorn of their leaves. The rivers swell, and the clouds blanket the earth.

So is the weather of the mind. And deep in the subterranean a voice cracks: God!

Now there are two ways of reacting to such a scenario: one, inferring it to a bad dream (or a bad day), and two, uttering “This is from God.”

As when Jacob owned “God has been in this place, and I knew it not.”

God is still here.

For A Times Like This

God is speaking.

He speaks when we are sleeping. He speaks when we are awake. He speaks when we are walking, and he speaks when we are dancing. He speaks when the coffers run dry, and when the auctioneers carry everything. He speaks when the fountain in the house breaks, and he speaks when the sick bed goes silent. God speaks especially when a mold of fresh earth rises from the ground.

God begs to be worshipped in truth and spirit. You remove one from the other and that is when chaos reigns.

But we are here to defeat being overwhelmed.

We are here to be imbued with his joy every day.

We are here to have a foretaste of heaven.

This is our joy.

And no man taketh it from us.

There's no greater love than this.

There's no greater comfort than this.

There's no greater truth than this.

Because he lives, I shall also live.

Therefore whether I live, or whether I die, I am still his.

And this is his word according to his gospel.

Why It is Better to Be Hidden in Him

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psa 91:1  

My Dwelling Place: My Refuge and My Fortress

What is your dwelling place?

For some their favourite dwelling place is their pub.

For others it is their home.

Which is ok.

We dwell where we love. It might be the air, or the breeze.

But for this psalmist his dwelling place was in God.

It is where he sang, prayed and worshipped.

It is where he hid.

And where everything fell into place.

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. 

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. Psa 27:4-5  

Because this world is passing away.  

Because in him is forgiveness of sins, love, mercy, and the one thing which will never end - eternal life.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Psa 23:6  

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. Joh 14:1-3  

To Dwell and To Be Indwelt

To dwell then is the poetic way of being in a covenant relationship with God.  “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth” (Deu 7:6). 

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Joh 1:12-13  

And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Gal 4:6  

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2Pe 1:4  

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 1Jn 3:1  

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. Joh 14:23  

Therefore, it is through dwelling in God alone that we eventually land on the meaning of life.

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psa 16:11  

So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. 

And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. 

Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun. Ecc 2:9-11 

O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psa 136:26  

In the Secret Place of the Most High

What is a secret place?

Why a secret place?

The graces of God are freely available to all.

One can imbibe them as much as one can take.

They are many: like the love of God, the mercy of God, the patience of God, the wisdom of God, the kindness of God and the faithfulness of God.

It’s like a sea.

One can swim near the shore or one can launch deep.

The deep place then is what I compare to the secret place of God.

Everybody can get there.

But not everybody is willing.

True, I can dwell anywhere.

My thoughts can be a secret place, right?

Feeding on self?

Ah, but that doesn’t end the restlessness!

That’s why I would rather dwell in the secret place of the Most High.

It may be lonely.

It may be windswept.

But I shall never go hungry or thirsty again.

I Shall Abide Under the Shadow of the Almighty

There are many shadows.

There are many trees.

Where a shadow is cast depends on the length of the tree.

The shorter the tree the shorter the shadow.

But the shadow of man can only be as short or as tall according to his height.

Only the shadow of God can cover the whole earth.

Yes, I would rather dwell under his shadow than anywhere else.

O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. 

Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 

Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 

For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. 

Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Psa 139:1-6  

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Psa 90:1-2

Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 1Jn 4:15-16  

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 

When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Col 3:1-4 

Happy dwelling! 

 What is in a Tongue?

Jas 3:3  Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 

 

Jas 3:4  Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 

 

Jas 3:5  Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 

 

Jas 3:6  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 

 

Jas 3:7  For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 

Jas 3:8  But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 

 

Jas 3:9  Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. 

 

Jas 3:10  Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

 

Jas 3:11  Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

 

Jas 3:12  Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. 

 

What is the Remedy? : The Wisdom of God.

 

Jas 3:13  Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. 

 

Jas 3:14  But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 

 

Jas 3:15  This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 

 

Jas 3:16  For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 

 

Jas 3:17  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 

 

Jas 3:18  And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. 

The Christian Yoke as an Instrument of Joy

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Mat 11:28-30

The Power and the Glory

The above three verses are packed with truth, power, and grace. They specifically consist of three invitations, and end with a promise. Let us go through them one by one.

The First Invitation: Come

The invitation is from Christ. And it is to all, anybody, and everybody, who is heavily burdened. It might be a sickness, a long one, and wasting, or a lost job, a means of income, a broken relationship, or a stagnation, like a traveler standing by a roadside, waiting for a car which never arrives.

And the soul is laden. And the spirit is gone. And it is to such Christ is saying: Come. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev 22:17).  

The Second Invitation: Take My Yoke Upon You

The yoke is not a pleasant item. We associate it with hardship and oppression.

First Christ says “Come…you will find rest.” And then he says: “Take my yoke.”

We associate the yoke with oxen, those two beasts of burden, with a wooden enclosure around their necks. Behind them, they pull the weight of a plough, or a cart.  

There is great richness in Christ’s expressions. They force one to pause. Life can be a yoke? And immediately I know life is not easy. Then Christ identifies himself with a yoke. He means “Put on my life.” Is the Christian life easy? Is the way of the cross easy?

But he says his yoke is not hard. It is not oppression. And I don’t carry it alone, but he will walk side by side with me until the end.

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Php 1:6 

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 1Jn 5:2-4   

And that is the joyful part of it. Of me being counted worthy to be called his son. Of me having been translated from the kingdom of darkness into his kingdom of light.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Joh 1:12-13  

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. 1Ti 1:12  

I can identify several layers of yokes every believer is called to put on.

The Yoke of Love

Love. Sweet love.  

“For so God loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son…”

For so God loved me that he died. And that is the yoke I am to put on. It is the call to die. To forget me, to renounce me, and to see only another… like the man or woman I hate; the man or woman who is impossible to love…

For so God loved me that he died.

And I am to love another like that.

The Yoke of Mercy

Ideally I should be free to direct my mercy where I want. But it’s no longer my life but his. For me to choose whom to forgive or to have mercy on, then that means I am still in my yoke of unforgiveness, yoke of hate, and yoke of selfishness.   

The Yoke of Patience and Perseverance

Patience wears you down. Even teachers and doctors run out of it. Patience is taxing, especially to one who is difficult to teach, or to one who believes he knows everything.

Yet Parents need it. Lovers need it. I need it. But in my own strength I can do nothing. I can only do it by putting on his yoke. He did it. That is why he says: Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.

Only in this way can I find rest to my soul. It’s his promise. Only in this way can I emerge into the glimmer of light from darkness. That’s why Christ says: Learn of me.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Mat 5:44-45 

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. Luk 23:34  

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Php 2:6-8   

The Yoke of Comfort

We are not creatures of comfort, naturally, unless it is to our own comfort. Yet Christ is calling us to put self down and to put on his yoke.

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 

And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 2Co 1:3-6  

The Yoke of Peace

To be indwelt with the peace from God, is to know the true tranquility, the joy of forgiveness, the peace of reconciliation. It’s the peace the prodigal found in being accepted back home.

To have the peace of God is to be at true liberty. It is to be free from worry. It is to depend only in him entirely.

As Christ did. “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isa 53:7).  

And now he says: Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me…

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isa 26:3  

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Joh 14:27  

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Rom 5:1  

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Php 4:6-7  

The Third Invitation: Learn of Me

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

If you have felt the tyranny of the world, the tyranny of self and the tyranny of the devil, then you know Christ is true.

King Solomon started well in God’s yoke. But along the way he put it down and took his own. And his last state was worse than his beginning: “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun” (Ecc 2:11).  

…and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Yes, it is true his yoke is easy indeed, and his burden is light indeed.

That’s how I have found my joy.