{"id":29821,"date":"2022-02-23T22:28:39","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T03:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=29821"},"modified":"2022-02-23T22:28:39","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T03:28:39","slug":"worship-wednesday-coming-out-of-the-dark-of-shame-glorious-day-passion-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=29821","title":{"rendered":"Worship Wednesday – Coming Out of the Dark of Shame – Glorious Day – Passion Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.<\/em> – Romans 8:1<\/a>
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For in Scripture it says: \u201cSee, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.\u201d – <\/em>1 Peter 2:6 <\/a><\/p>\n

Turns out I’ve written a lot<\/a> about shame. Strange for me, in that until a few months ago, I didn’t think shame was something that bothered me. Guilt, yes. Shame…no.<\/p>\n

I was wrong. Even studying Scripture, I must have just skipped over all the “shame” passages. We are introduced to the experience of shame very early in the Bible as Adam and Eve (before sin) were described as “naked but unashamed”<\/em><\/a>. Too soon, they tasted the bitter fruit of disobedience and couldn’t stomach the shame of their nakedness. Naked and, this time, ashamed<\/a>…and wanting to hide themselves from each other…and God.<\/p>\n

What are we trying to hide? What are we working so hard to bury or cover or avoid? Quick to judge someone else before we ourselves are judged.<\/p>\n

Christian psychiatrist Curt Thompson<\/a> helps us understand shame and find a way to healing and freedom. In his book The Soul of Shame: Retelling the Stories We Believe About Ourselves<\/a><\/span>, he talks about how shamed people try to shame others<\/strong>. We don’t want our lives to be examined too closely…our secrets might be exposed. We hide. We isolate ourselves. We turn aside rather than be truly known.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we experience shame, we tend to turn away from others because the prospect of being seen or known by another carries the anticipation of shame being intensified or reactivated. However, the very act of turning away, while\u00a0temporarily protecting and relieving us from our\u00a0feeling (and the gaze of the \u2018other\u2019), ironically simultaneously reinforces the very shame we are attempting to avoid. Notably, we do not necessarily realize this to be happening-we\u2019re just trying to survive the moment. But indeed this dance between hiding and feeling shame itself becomes a tightening of the noose.\u00a0 We feel shame, and then feel shame for feeling shame. It begets itself.\u201d – <\/em>Curt Thompson, <\/span> The Soul of Shame: Retelling the Stories We Believe About Ourselves<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: IIRP, Nathanson<\/a><\/p>\n

The irony here is that none of us is exempt from this experience of shame. We have all endured the pain and sorrow of it. How we deal with it is to name it and take it out of the darkness into His marvelous light… Shame is not meant to be a tormentor. God gave us this gift, really, as a signal, a marker, that something is wrong and can be righted. We are to turn our eyes away from hiding our sin and look to Jesus to heal our sin.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTo this God, whom we meet in Jesus, we must direct our attention if we are to know the healing of our shame.<\/strong> We must literally look to Jesus in embodied ways in order to know how being loved in community brings shame to its knees and lifts us up and into acts of goodness and beauty.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u2015 Curt Thompson, <\/span> The Soul of Shame: Retelling the Stories We Believe About Ourselves<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Sometimes we feel shame not from anything we’ve done wrong but from what others have communicated to us about us…from childhood. Our “not enough-ness”. That communication gets wired into our minds and we recall it over and over through life.<\/div>\n
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We can derail that messaging when we name it for what it is, talk about it with a person with whom we feel safe, and give it to Jesus.<\/div>\n
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Just this week, I had the responsibility of arranging housing for a refugee family. Rentals in our city are often expensive, and even at that, hard to come by. I found an apartment that would work well (praise God!), then in the process of applying for a lease, the monthly rent went up (LIKE $50). It changes daily I was told. After venting my frustration with the rental office agent, and we ended our phone conversation with me answering his question, “Yes, I still want the apartment!!!” After a few minutes, the shamed bubbled up. What if I lost us the apartment? What if my rant meant we would have to keep searching for a home for this weary, displaced family? What if? What if?! Shamed turned my focus inward and I was terrified at being found out…being found wanting…being a failure.<\/div>\n
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The Lord, in His mercy, reminded me of all I had been learning about shame, and I recognized it for what it was. Processing it, I prayed… and I called Dave. Talking through it took away much of its power. In the end, there was nothing to worry about. We agreed to the rent offered (which was still within the budget…I overreacted!), and the agent had taken no offense, it turns out. God had quieted my heart and reminded me of the truth of His love. He provided. Period. Full stop. We take deep breaths, and look to Him.<\/div>\n
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“…Keeping our eyes on Jesus<\/strong>, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God\u2019s throne.” – Hebrews 12:2<\/a><\/p>\n

What Does It Mean for Jesus to Despise the Shame?<\/em> – John Piper<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Heartlight<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cShame\u2019s healing encompasses the counterintuitive act of turning toward what we are most terrified of.<\/strong> We fear the shame that we will feel when we speak of that very shame.\u00a0 In some circumstances we anticipate this vulnerable exposure to be so great that it will be almost life threatening.\u00a0 But it is in the movement toward another, toward connection with someone who is safe, that we come to know life and freedom from this prison.<\/strong>\u201d<\/em> – Curt Thompson, <\/span> The Soul of Shame: Retelling the Stories We Believe About Ourselves<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The key here in dealing with shame is to refuse to let it isolate us. In the dark of our own silent shame, we allow our thoughts to torment and accuse…or we tamp down those thoughts by dismissing them or turning on others in judgment. When we hide, we miss the comfort God means for us through fellowship with Him and each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou did it:\u00a0You turned my deepest pains into joyful dancing;<\/strong> You stripped off my dark clothing\u00a0and covered me with joyful light.\u00a0You have restored my honor.\u00a0My heart is ready to explode, erupt in new songs! It\u2019s impossible to keep quiet! Eternal One, my God,\u00a0my Life-Giver,\u00a0I will thank You forever.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Psalm 30:11-12<\/a><\/p>\n

Worship<\/a> with me (Passion Music<\/a>‘s Glorious Day<\/em> – music & lyrics in link). Let’s celebrate the blessed freedom we have in Christ…<\/p>\n

I was buried beneath my shame
\nWho could carry that kind of weight
\nIt was my tomb
\nTill I met You<\/p>\n

I was breathing but not alive
\nAll my failures I tried to hide
\nIt was my tomb
\nTill I met You<\/p>\n

You called my name
\nAnd I ran out of that grave
\nOut of the darkness
\nInto Your glorious day
\nYou called my name
\nAnd I ran out of that grave
\nOut of the darkness
\nInto Your glorious day<\/p>\n

Now Your mercy has saved my soul
\nNow Your freedom is all I know
\nThe old made new
\nJesus, when I met You<\/p>\n

You called my name
\nAnd I ran out of that grave
\nOut of the darkness
\nInto Your glorious day
\nYou called my name
\nAnd I ran out of that grave
\nOut of the darkness
\nInto Your glorious day<\/p>\n

I needed rescue
\nMy sin was heavy
\nBut chains break at the weight of Your glory
\nI needed shelter
\nI was an orphan
\nNow You call me a citizen of heaven
\nWhen I was broken
\nYou were my healing
\nYour love is the air that I’m breathing
\nI have a future
\nMy eyes are open<\/p>\n

You called my name
\nAnd I ran out of that grave
\nOut of the darkness
\nInto Your glorious day
\nYou called my name
\nAnd I ran out of that grave
\nOut of the darkness
\nInto Your glorious day*<\/p>\n

For the Scripture says, \u201cEveryone who believes in him will not be put to shame.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>\u2013 <\/strong>Romans 10:11<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n