Goodbye Shame
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)
For a long time, I wished I had encountered the love of Jesus earlier in life. I was saved at 28. Though I grew up attending a church, and am grateful for the foundation of faith my family established, I did not truly know Him. I knew a rigid, rule-centered, works-based church environment, and I left as a young adult feeling as though I could never measure up to such standards.
I have lived my life without faith and with faith. I have lived through seasons of darkness, fueled by terrible decision-making and treating others badly. The enemy loved keeping me in this cycle of shame, enabling me to continue living in such a way.
I thought I could never be a true follower of Jesus. Surely He would review my list of shameful sins, shake His head, and kick me to the curb, right?
How wrong I was.
By the grace of God alone, He intervened and saved me. Me! A terrible, terrible sinner. In a terrible, terrible season. Through an invitation from a friend and a gentle conversation full of truth and grace, a seed was planted. It took time to bloom, but it marked the beginning of a new creation.
That conversation full of truth and grace occurred years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. There was a whole new life waiting for me because of Jesus, where I could live freely and abundantly in Him, free of shame. This is a topic I am passionate about discussing with other women, especially those who are wrestling with their pasts while longing to grow in their faith.
I remember attending my first Bible study groups and wondering how all these other women were so “all in” for Jesus. The way they discussed Scripture and seemed to carry a light that was unfamiliar to me. I was weighed down by my past, by shame, and by Satan’s lies telling me that I could still never measure up because of it.
If you are reading this now, consider it your invitation to say “goodbye shame” and mean it. God does not call us to remain in our worst moment, a bad decision, or the weight of regret. We can take God at His word and live in the freedom that Jesus won for us on the cross.
In Jesus, there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1). We are released from the law, from the power of sin, and from shame. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit, Who dwells within us, to live a new, Spirit-led life.
I no longer spend time wishing my faith journey with Jesus looked different in my early years. The dark seasons do not define me—they are part of the redemptive story God has written for my life. They are sobering reminders of what life looks like without Jesus, and they are an illustration of God’s vast grace and mercy.
When I share my testimony, perhaps others will also realize that they are not defined by shame or their sin, and more hearts will open to a life with Jesus.
Today, I do live freely and abundantly in Jesus. I am one of those “all in” for Jesus kinds of women who loves talking about Scripture and carries a Jesus-fueled light. And I am grateful for my story—for all the winding roads that led me straight to Him.
I can say with confidence that I am free from shame. When shame comes knocking at my heart, I know how to pause and name the lies the enemy so desperately tries to whisper in my ear. Then I hold those lies up to the light of God’s Word and remember what is actually true.
A mentor once reminded me that Jesus took both our sin and our shame on the cross; He paid it all. I believe that fully. If you are lacking faith in this, you can borrow my faith. If I can be freed from my shame, you can certainly be freed from yours. He paid it all.
We are forgiven.
We are free.
We are a new creation in Jesus.
Goodbye, shame! Thank You, Jesus.
