**********
I just finished listened to another amazing presentation on Abundant Living by Ken Baugh. I highly recommend you listen to his entire talk by referring back to the text of this podcast and linking to his YouTube channel there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6vWCNK0xDE&feature=em-uploademail
Ken spoke on a topic that, I believe holds the key to victor living. Shame is a killer when it comes to our ability to live like the victor God made us to be.
Shame is such an affront to who we are. Where guilt comes at us as a result of what we do, shame threatens to change who we are in ways that cause long term damage to our psyche.
Shame can be such a challenge to recognize in our lives. For many of us, shame has played such a critical role in our life that it is considered healthy and welcomed. That's a terrible place for us to remain. We just can't be all we want to be in this world when we are being driven by shame.
Defining shame can be a challenge at times. I love how simple Ken made it when it comes to identifying shame in my life. Ken said that we can open the door to dealing with shame by filling in the blank in the following sentence.
"I am NOT (blank) enough."
What would you fill in the blank with. In other words, what areas of your life do you feel lacking. Maybe you would say you are not pretty enough. Maybe you have been taught you are not smart enough. Maybe you have been conditioned to think you are not successful enough. Maybe you have resigned to think you are not a good enough parent.
The one word in this short sentence that Ken gave to help us identify potential areas where shame resides that really makes shame possible is the word enough. It isn't all that shame based to say, "I am not pretty." Shame threatens to work its roots in our life when the word enough is added to that statement.
Enough implies that others are more pretty than yourself. Enough makes us believe that the good things that might be happening to others are a result of their being better than we are in any number of areas. Though others may be prettier than us, shame gets us to believe that we are unworthy of the good life that person has simply because we are lacking in something we think they have more of. It is when we see ourselves unworthy that shame takes hold in ways that make victim thinking so possible in our lives.
Comparison is always a stumbling block to those of us trying to live the victors God sees us to be. When we compare our lives to the lives of others, then try to come up with answers as to what we are missing that might be keeping us from having the life they have, shame takes hold in a big way. Often what we think we need to get the life others have just isn't something we have control over. Stay in that place of feeling helpless to make our lives more and victim thinking will take hold in victimizing ways.
Ken pointed out that we react to shame in two ways. Our behavior reflects the shame in our lives through fear and/or blame. Shame can drive us to fear the world and what we are doing in this world. It can make us fear who God says we are, when that identity doesn't rise to the level we want when compared to others. Shame can make fear be a motivating factor to isolate in self destructive ways. Isolation can happen as we withdraw to wallow in our own self loathing or we push everyone out of the way so we can make happen what we want in our lives. Fear can be the motivation behind the most lazy of us in this world and the most driven as well.
Fear is one method of dealing with shame. The other way we deal with shame is to blame others for how we are. Shame can make us lash out in anger driven fits that work to drive people away. It is so much easier to blame others for how we are than to take responsibility for getting shame out of our lives. The more we project the feelings driven by shame on others, the more alone we become. Fear and blame make life a lonely existence for those of us caught in the trap of shame.
I love today's Bible reading. It deals with shame and points out some truths that we need to know to live like the victors we all want to be. It says...
Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy. Isaiah 61:7 (ESV)
Isaiah shoots straight with us in this verse. He calls our situation - the challenging times that might be bringing a sense of shame into our lives - our lot! Sometimes that's how life is. It is a lot! It's a lot to deal with. It's a lot to comprehend. It is a lot to tolerate. It takes a lot to thrive when so many things come at us in ways they do from time to time.
The promise from today's reading is that things can be different. Instead of "OUR" shame, a double portion of God's goodness is promised. Don't take this to mean that all will instantly turn out OK. What this is saying is that God's presence is always there. His presence is what we need to find joy in. Rejoicing is possible when we realize that God hasn't left us. Circumstances can be such shame making events when we think that we aren't "enough" of whatever to deserve God to be part of our lives.
The bad times you face in this life aren't proof that you don't measure up. God doesn't see you as lacking. He sees you as His Child. He isn't allowing bad times to come to get you to increase some element of your character so as to be a better representative of Him. He is with you in the bad times so that the light of Heaven can shine through you in some pretty dark times.
Take time today to consider what areas of life you feel you are falling short in. Then consider, maybe those thoughts are based in shame. That shame is harming your identity. All you do is to be empowered by who you are. If shame is changing who you are, you are going to fall short in what you do. Let God's presence remind you that shame has no place in who you are. You are a victor. Let that fact overwhelm the feelings of shame that threaten make what you do today fall short of what God has planed for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment