Devotional: Free from the Prison of Shame

One day when I was praying, God spoke to my heart and showed me that I was still carrying a lot of shame because of things I had done in my past – and things that had been done to me. Shame was causing me to hide parts of myself. I projected a false image of someone who was confident and self-assured when I was anything but.

Shame Causes Us to Hide

Deep inside, I was a woman who didn’t love herself and had come to believe that she was unworthy of love from God and others. I feared that if people knew the “real” me, they would discover that I was indeed unworthy and quickly reject me. So, I put on a mask and pretended to be something and someone that God never intended. It’s not that I did this intentionally. The shame was so strong that I could not risk being vulnerable. Not even with God.

Shame Imprisons Us

Shame causes us to hide from ourselves, others, and from God. It causes us to project a false image of who we really are as a means of self-preservation. When we are filled with shame, we walk in a continual state of denial to avoid being vulnerable. We do it to protect the shame-filled part of ourselves. The more we hide, the more we disconnect from God and others – and from our authentic selves. This is why unhealed shame is so damaging. It becomes, in fact, a spiritual prison.

Shame Partners with Self-Rejection

Rejection is very painful to experience at any level, even when it is unintentional or imagined. It magnifies our deep-seated sense of unworthiness and fortifies the walls of shame that are keeping  us hidden. This rejection-shame partnership causes us to push away and deny our authentic selves and turns into self-rejection. Self-rejection then becomes the warden that guards our prison of shame.

Another problem with shame is that it causes us to fear that if we showed God who we really are, He would reject us, too. It causes us to hide and run from His love because the thought of facing God’s rejection is just too unbearable.

Free From the Prison of Shame

We all carry shame to one degree or another. The problem is learning to identify it, heal from it, and release it to God. But how?

I finally came to a point where I was ready to confront the shame I had been carrying for so long. I asked God for the courage to do so. He began speaking to me through Bible verses that spoke of His goodness and His love for us. He helped me to see that those verses applied to me and not just others. I began to understand that God is not ashamed of me, and there is nothing I’ve ever done that was ever hidden from Him – and yet, He still loved and accepted me.

For that matter, the things that happened in my life that caused me to feel shame were things God desired to heal. I just had to be willing to become vulnerable and allow Him to expose and touch the places in my heart where shame was hiding.

Forgiveness is the Key

What surprised me most is that I was not just carrying shame and self-rejection, but in many ways, I had rejected God. I had rejected His love, the truth of who He is, and the truth of who He says that I am. Surrendering the shame helped me to embrace God’s love and my authentic self.

God tells us not to be afraid to approach Him. He will never humiliate us and will, instead, remove the shame that we carried even from our youth. He promises to deal with those who have caused us to feel ashamed and will replace our shame with honor.

The best promise of all is that we will inherit a double portion for the shame we endured as well as everlasting joy. What this means is that God will take our shame and turn it into a double blessing!

God’s Promises Regarding Shame

Isaiah 54:4 NIV — “Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.”

Zephaniah 3:19 NIV — “At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you. I will rescue the lame; I will gather the exiles. I will give them praise and honor  in every land where they have suffered shame.”

Isaiah 61:7 NIV — “Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.”

Psalm 25:3 NIV — “No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.”

Questions for Self-Reflection

• What are things that have happened in your life that have caused you to carry shame?
• Are there areas in your heart where you are also carrying self-rejection?
• Are there areas in your heart where you are carrying rejection toward God and others?
• Write a letter to God to tell Him about the shame you are carrying and any fears that He will reject you. Read the letter to Him while you pray and release the shame to God. Use the suggested prayer below and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you pray.

Suggested Prayer for Breaking Free from the Prison of Shame

Heavenly Father, I thank you that nothing about my life is hidden from you. You have seen everything about me and understand my pain and the shame that I carry. I choose to be set free from the spiritual prison of shame. I understand that one of the keys to my freedom is forgiveness. Therefore, I choose to forgive _____________ (list names) for ____________ (list circumstance) and how it caused me to feel shame. I choose to forgive myself for self-rejecting thoughts and beliefs and for allowing self-rejection to keep me imprisoned in shame. I choose to forgive you, God, for believing that you are ashamed of me. Please forgive me for being ashamed of myself or being ashamed of who you created me to be. Help me to embrace my authentic self, and help me to receive and embrace your love for me. Help me to come out of hiding and trust you to touch the hurting places in my heart. Please continue to bring healing within the places of my heart that are still in bondage to shame until I am completely free. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.