OVERCOMING SHAME

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 (NLT)

When you feel hurt, often it isn’t because of the people around you. When you get to the bottom of it, hurt feelings often have more to do with what’s going on inside you.

Shame, for example, causes all kinds of relationship trouble. If you’ve never accepted God’s forgiveness or become aware of the fact that you’re a brand-new creation in Christ, you’ll be easily hurt. Every time someone corrects or questions you, you’ll feel like it’s an all-out attack on your self-worth. And because you feel you have something to hide, you’ll have trouble connecting with others emotionally.

In your marriage, if you can’t seem to connect with your spouse or you feel like he or she is constantly hurting your feelings, you might begin to think that you married the wrong person. I’m not saying that your spouse is perfect, but before you give up on the relationship, you owe it to yourself to question if there’s a deeper issue within you that may be contributing to the problem.

The good news is you can overcome shame, because if you’ve given your life to Jesus, you are right with God. God is not angry with you. He’s not condemning you and He’s not out to get you. He loves you, accepts you completely, and has great plans for your life!

According to God’s Word, your identity is: overcomer, born of God and child of the King. Let God’s Word build your self-worth because the more you drown out those feelings of shame with the truth about how God feels about you, the less easily you’ll be hurt, and the better your relationships will become.