What Would You Say Now To Shame?
Someone asked me what I would say now to shame—
This is my answer, and this is for any of you who’ve battled with shame. The shame from grief, loss, failure, rejection, sins you’ve committed, sins committed against you, trauma you’ve endured, you fill in the blanks.
Artwork by Gary Varvel from Living Hope: Giving Birth to Death Brought Life
I can’t seem to get away,
It follows me wherever I go.
It haunts me, taunts me;
I beg to be set free.
Peter Pan didn’t realize how good he had it.
He didn’t have it over him
Behind him
Chasing him.
The future is blurry,
When the past is suffocating;
The future is dim,
When the past is overwhelming.
I feel uncovered and exposed
All is laid bare.
Will I ever be enough?
Or is it all too much?
It whispers these lies
These doubts and questions—
Will you still love me?
Or will you reject me?
I have allowed it to consume me
To be defined by
To identify with—
This shadow of mine.
It’s driving me insane
Have you figured its name?
I am
Shame
Am I alone with my shadow?
Does it follow you too?
Do you relate with these voices
That are loudest to you?
I am
my grief.
my sin.
my disease.
my trauma.
my struggle.
But I was recently asked—
“What would you say now to shame?”
The shadow is deception,
Your imagination plays tricks.
What follows you is not your prison—
It’s actually the redemption you seek.
You aren’t your grief.
your sin.
your disease.
your trauma.
your struggle.
There is no I am
Except the One who declares,
It is finished, it’s done
Because of the shadow He's become.
I AM
Has become your shame.
He was naked and exposed,
He bled for your name.
I AM became your grief.
your sin.
your disease.
your trauma.
your struggle.
You are covered by
The overshadowing protection of His wing.
You are cloaked with His righteousness by
The cleansing of His blood.
Peter Pan had it right after all—
The Shadow must be attached at all cost.
His Presence goes before, beside, and behind
So you can finally be unshackled from the past.
For union with Him
Has no beginning and end;
You haven’t lost yourself—
Your I am is found in the I AM.
When you, the enemy, or others point to your shame,
Lay down the pride of striving
The self-righteousness of surviving
And the guilt that’s hiding.
Turn to your Shadow
For He’s making right your wrong;
Magnify the glory of His healing grace
And dance to His eternal song.
Even though it’s a daily fight
To trust there is nothing left to do,
But believe the I AM defines you
And hold fast that your future is secure.
The pain may still linger a little longer
Yet grief and joy intertwine together;
For the Man of Sorrows is the Prince of Peace
Whispering His faithful love—
“I will place My residence among you,
And I will not reject you.”
(Leviticus 26:11)
The Shadow of Shame by Christina Varvel
"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2, KJV)
"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV)
Love these two songs: Picture You by NONAH and Clean by Natalie Grant