God is not surprised by our shame stories.  He understands the dynamics of shame far beyond what we can comprehend.  In our desire to mature as believers, Bruce McNicol, founder and past president of the ministry Trueface, shares how facing shame and trusting God with our shame stories can help us grow and experience God on a deeper level.  Doing so frees us to love and honor others in the way God designed us to love.

It’s difficult to surrender to a God you don’t trust.  Shame can hinder our ability to obey God from the heart, because shame and unbelief go hand in hand.  Without faith, we won’t grow. We won’t mature as believers.  As we come to experience the love of God and believe His value in us, we can take risks to surrender our hearts before Him.

Sometimes God’s Word can seem intimidating.  We may want to avoid reading or studying it because of past experiences.  God is not hindered by this challenge.  Finding a safe place to come to know God through His Word can relieve some of the cautiousness.  And He is able to meet us right where we are, no matter the seeming obstacles in our path.  He gave us His Word because He wants us to know Him.  

God’s Word reveals God’s heart.  It shows us who He is and who we are.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  God is not a distant being, but One who moves toward us in love.  He gives us His Word to enable us to trust His character and intention.  The more we study it and meditate on it, the more we feel at rest in His presence.

God’s Word is powerful.  It is greater than our shame. It is stronger than our fears and unbelief.  It can speak to us even when we aren’t yet ready to trust it.  God speaks to us through His Word because He wants us to know Him.  Shame can distort our interpretation of God’s Word, but as we read and meditate on it, we come to know what is true, rather than what our fear and unbelief can tell us.

When an artist feels freedom of expression, it ignites their creativity. They fear the judgment of others less. This is what happened for Anna.  Through God’s grace, she experienced healing from the hurts in her past.  She could offer forgiveness toward those who misjudged her.  She began to enjoy God for who He is, instead of who she feared Him to be.  

Growing up with a pragmatic father and a busy mother, Anna felt unknown and misunderstood as an artist.  It became easy, then, for her to believe that God would respond to her in the same way. As she began to be affirmed and released into her artistic expression, she began to believe that God delighted in her design.

We, as humans, will never fully comprehend God and His ways in this life.  Only when we are face to face with Him in eternity will we see Him as He is.  Until that time, sin and the shame that accompanies it, distorts our perspective of Him. As we stand in the truth of what God says about Himself in His Word, we can live with greater confidence of His goodness and faithfulness to u

Ongoing hardships and our own repeated sins can cause us to draw the conclusion that God is disappointed in us.  There must be some reason why circumstances don’t change.  And He knows that we can’t stop sinning, no matter how many times we try to repent.  John Lynch, speaker, author, and former pastor, teaches about the gift God has given us in repentance, so that we can live in hope and freedom.  He also shares the hope that God is not punishing us by our trials, but instead wants to walk with us through them.

Believing what God says about me and what He has done for me breaks the power of shame. Evil would like nothing more than for me to believe God is disappointed with me.  Even on my worst day, my identity is Christ in me.  John Lynch, speaker, author, and former pastor, vulnerably shares the story of how shame was birthed in him.  He swore no one would ever know. When he learned the truth of his identity in Christ, the lie shame hissed at him lost its power.

In shame, we interpret the way God moves in our lives to mean that He is disinterested in us, or is upset with us.  We may believe that we haven’t met His expectations, therefore our relational issues and painful life circumstances are our fault.  God, in His Word, reveals that He is intimately acquainted with us, and is nearer to us than we can imagine.  By trusting truth, we can begin to stand in His loving care for us, resulting in peace, hope, and joy

Prayer is such an important part of the Christian life, yet Believers can run into challenges that can be discouraging.  Some of those challenges, like shame, are internal. Others are external, from Satan’s schemes, to the issues that arise regarding public prayer. Paula Walberer, intercessor and prayer leader for an international outreach ministry, shares her insights in these areas of prayer, offering direction, insight, and hope.

 We can get caught up in the technical pieces of prayer as if it were a duty to perform, rather than a relationship to foster. Past teaching and experiences can hinder us from understanding this reality.  Paula Walberer, intercessor and prayer leader for an international ministry, shares her expertise on intercession and God’s heart for us in prayer.

God’s answers to our prayers can confuse us.  When we wait years for Him to move in our situation, or when He denies our requests, it can bring up shame.  We can blame ourselves for His answers that are difficult for us as people.  The more we understand God’s heart and ways, it can help us trust Him through the journey, knowing He is for us and cares about the details of our lives. 

Bringing a secret to light is a beginning step toward healing.  The Holy Spirit knows exactly what we need to grow and become fully free.  Patty Barry shares some of those steps that God led her through as she brought the secret of her abortion to light. God’s grace through friends, her husband, and spiritual leaders strengthened her and moved her toward the redemption and calling of her life.

An unplanned pregnancy led to a secret kept for many years.  The secret brought great shame.  Patty Barry shares her abortion story, telling about the effects of it at the time and in the decades after.  God’s grace began to break her free from the prison she created for herself.  She took her first steps of living in the light of His love

Keeping an unhealthy secret fuels our shame. It holds power over us. It defines us in our minds. It tells us that we are unworthy. Once we bring the secret to light before God and with safe and trustworthy people, the secret becomes part of our history and not what defines us.  We can learn the difference between privacy and secrecy, and live in healthy freedom from shame.  

The challenges of life can make us bitter, or they can mature us if we let God have His way in us.  They can also open the door to joy.  Mark and Sherri Tanner share how Mark’s stroke grew them in emotional intimacy as well as intimacy with God.  God’s strength in their weakness was proved over and over again.

  It is possible to move through life without shame, even after disability becomes a daily reality.  Mark and Sherri Tanner share about God’s faithfulness to them after Mark’s massive stroke.  The losses affected them and the stroke took spontaneity away, but they learned to lean on the promises of God to strengthen them for each day.  

Encountering the vulnerabilities in others can trigger shame in us.  When we’re not comfortable with our own weaknesses, we can avoid engaging with others in their vulnerabilities.  As we meet people with physical differences or disabilities, those with mental challenges, addictions, and experiencing homelessness, the encounter can bring up responses that reveal our own fears. By God’s grace, we can respond with humility and compassion, offering hope to a hurting world.