Shame

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Luke 2:10

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

Follow Me, and I will make you to become

When we read Jesus’ invitation to “follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men”

(Matthew 4:19, ESV; also see Mark 1:17), we often simplify discipleship into two steps:

(1) follow Jesus, and then

(2) share that good news with others around us.

Shame

“Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame” (Genesis 2:25). But after eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the opposite happens. They feel shame, so Adam and Eve run away from—instead of to— God in the garden. God looks for them and calls to the man, “Where are you?” He answers, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid” (Genesis 3:9-10).

Sin says, “You did wrong.” Shame follows and says, “You are wrong, and you deserve punishment.”

Our once connected souls fracture, so we hide. We separate ourselves from God and from one another. Our sin is believing the lie, the false narrative, that causes us to run and hide, separating us from that which is life. Fear and hiding are always two warning indications we are living in false narrative.

Lies bring shame, and sin leads to death. But God’s narrative brings redemption. Truth brings freedom, and death is what makes resurrection possible.

Holy Emotional: God is, therefore I am

God introduces himself first as the God of [Moses’ people] the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Same as Adam & Eve

And Adam said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” Genesis 3:10 Guilt - I did something wrong Shame - I am wrong. “I don’t know what is wrong, so something must be wrong with me.”

Is there a place in your life where you feel you have to hide?

Social emotions develop in the brain as we become aware of the feelings of others. Empathy,

compassion, embarrassment, shame, and anxiety are founded in our connection to each other.

When I am connected to you, I mirror you and feel what you feel. 

Shame Anxiety

Compassion

Empathy Embarrassment Resentment

In Exodus 3, God speaks out of the burning bush and names Himself for Moses

Yes, Moses had killed someone, but God does not define us by our actions. He calls us by

name—our true identity. Moses’ intuition that he was a deliverer had been right, but the timing

wasn’t. When God looked at Moses at the burning bush, God did not see a murderer; God saw

the deliverer of My people (Exodus 3:10; Acts 7:35). It was time. God was inviting Moses to set

the people of Israel free as His representative. And like most of us, Moses immediately objected

to God repeatedly. Moses was still under the assumption everything relied on him. His fear,

anger, and shame masked the real fears that he was unworthy and alone. But for every objection

Moses raised, God answered with His presence.

Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of yourfathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

E x o d u s 3 : 1 3 - 1 4

Moses’ first objection: “They will not believe me or listen to my voice” (Exodus 4:1, ESV).

God’s response: “If they will not believe you or listen to the first sign, they may believe the

latter sign” (Exodus 4:8, ESV).

Moses’ second objection: “I am not eloquent . . . I am slow of speech” (Exodus 4:10, ESV).

God’s response: “I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak” (Exodus

4:12, ESV).

Moses’ third objection: “Send someone else” (Exodus 4:13, ESV).

God’s response: “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well.Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.

You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with

his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he

shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him” (Exodus 4:14-16, ESV).

As a result of this exchange, Moses felt like he had no other choice but to trust God, return to

Egypt, and operate in his true identity. God was at work preparing the hearts of His people.

When Moses confessed his fear of facing both the Israelites and the Egyptians, Aaron and others

were already on their way. When God disrupts the narrative, He does not ignore our emotions;

He meets us in them.

Fast-forward thirty chapters to Exodus 33 and 34, where Moses spoke to God “face to face, as

one speaks to a friend” (Exodus 33:11). The man who was too ashamed to look at God became

the man whose face shone with God’s glory (Exodus 34:29-35). When Scripture speaks of God’s

face shining, it paints a picture of a Father smiling at His children in pure joy, delight, and

laughter. When God looked at Moses, He saw him in his true identity as a deliverer of My

people. When Moses looked at God, Moses received everything he needed: love, joy,

compassion, forgiveness, belonging, and friendship.

Most of us respond to God in the same way Moses initially responded to God. We relate to

the shame of Adam and Eve and the fear of Moses. And we hide. But separation and hiding due

to shame and fear is not God’s narrative. God’s narrative is connection and courage. The story of

Moses reminds us that our emotions can be transformed when they encounter a life-changing

God.

Of all the core emotions, joy is the most powerful. Joy is the response in the brain when

someone smiles at you. 43

It is the overflow of a heart full of gratitude, and it is the only emotion

that is a fruit of the Spirit of God. Joy leads us back to God. In God’s story, joy is learning to be a

child again because God is good and in control. All our soul’s formation is connected to

discovering our joy-filled I am in the secure arms of the God who is. He is the One who was and

is and is to come. The eternal God will always be with us.

How that identity grows and changes over a lifetime is the next step on our adventure of

becoming good news.

Joy

Joy is a deep, enduring sense of gladness rooted in love, gratitude, and connection—not just

favorable circumstances. While the other core emotions are meant to alert us to something, to be

attended to, and to pass, joy is the only core emotion meant to last (and overflow!). Joy is like a

light—it displaces the darkness. Joy brings hope to every other emotion. Of the core emotions

we are born with, only joy is a fruit of the Spirit. God is the source of true joy, and His delight in

us invites us into secure, lasting happiness. Nehemiah reminds us that “the joy of the LORD is

[our] strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). The presence of joy is the best indication that our soul is at rest.

Paul tells us to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances (Philippians

4:4-8). Gratitude overwhelms the soul with joy.

Luke 24:44-49

44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you.”

Jeremiah 31:25, 31-34

For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

Hebrews 10:16

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”

Joyful Connection Activity:

Rest

Take 3 or 4 deep breaths from your belly and close your eyes. Allow your nervous system to relax.

Joyful memory

Think of a joyful memory in your life where you felt connected, seen, valued and full of life.

Describe the event using all of your senses. How did you feel? What did you smell and/or taste? What did you see? Who was with you? What did you hear?

Connect the memory to Love/Truth

What does Love/Truth want you to pay attention to in the memory? What is Love/Truth drawing your attention to?

What does Love/Truth want you to know today? Why did Love/Truth remind you of this memory today?