Are there moments in your life when you just want to be in hiding because of shame, embarrassment, and guilt? I just want to let you know that you are not alone. I have that moments too. There are things I have done that makes me ashamed, embarrassed, and guilty.
There were moments in my life when I just wanted to isolate and be inside my room because it was as if I didn’t have the confidence to interact with people. There were moments in my life when I tried to escape the haunting thought of shameful and embarrassing circumstances by numbing my mind with online games and movies. Unfortunately, in moments like these, the shame, embarrassment, and guilt were just temporarily forgotten because I diverted my mind from these negative thoughts toward something else. However, every time, I temporarily isolated myself in my room and temporarily escaped through games and movies, the shame, embarrassment, and guilt increased because I had lost time which could be spent with loved ones and I had used the blessing of time unprofitably.
In moments like these, all of us try to cling to something to rid away the shame, embarrassment, and guilt. We try to soothe these feelings by entertainment, pleasure, adventure, experiences, achievements, and any other thing that this world could offer. Nevertheless, we know that deep inside of our being it’s just a temporary fix. These things were never meant to rid the shame, embarrassment, and guilt.
Fortunately, a Person can. Providentially, a Person did.
That Person is the God-man: Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect life on our behalf so that we would never be afraid of not measuring up because He has perfectly measured up the standards of God for us. (2 Cor. 5:21)
In Christ, our standing is spotless and blameless. In Christ, we are covered by His perfect righteousness. In Christ, we are eternally accepted by our loving Father. In Christ, the shame, embarrassment, and guilt are no more because God does not judge us based on our sinful, flawed, and weak performance but rather on the perfect, flawless, and almighty performance of Christ.
He also died on our behalf. (1 Peter 3:18) He was subjected to the death that we should have died because of our sins. He suffered our sin’s punishment. His precious blood has paid our sin’s penalty. The sins that make us ashamed, embarrassed, and guilty have been buried deep in the ocean of Jesus’ concealing blood.
He resurrected on the third day to prove that He is indeed our mighty Savior who has conquered the sting of death. The free gift of eternal life becomes ours the moment we turn away from our sins and trust in Him as our Lord Savior. (John 3:16)
In moments of shame, embarrassment, and guilt, let us turn our gaze away from our sinful selves and toward our perfect Savior. And sing with the hymn writer:
Because the sinless Savior died,
Before the Throne of God, Excerpt
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
There is hope because of Christ. There is now no room for hiding because Christ sets us free from our shame, embarrassment, and guilt.
By grace alone 