Shame and Identity, Part 7: How Do We Come To Believe Our Identity From Our Hearts, Not Just Our Heads?
To go from shaming yourself to believing your true identity in Christ will be a process. The power of our sinful nature was destroyed when we were united with Christ on the cross in salvation (Romans 7:1-6). Now we have received a regenerated heart that is the true us (Romans 7:22). However, even though our sinful nature is dead in one sense, like most recently dead bodies, it can sometimes seem very much alive (Romans 7:21-25). Our sinful flesh can still entice us to commit sins, such as embracing our old identity of shame.
Today, we will look at four tools we can take to fight shame and get grounded in our identity in Christ.
First, fighting shame well means being in prayer. Our willpower is often weak, but the Lord is way more powerful than we are and delights to help us.
We are also to ask godly friends to pray for us as the prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective (James 5:16).
Next, we need to humble ourselves and want to change (James 4:6). I am a therapist and coach with 30 years of experience, but I am absolutely powerless to help someone if they don’t want to change. Seek to want change and beg God for a greater desire to change (Mark 9:24).
We also need to identify our shaming statements. What negative phrases do you repeatedly say to yourself? List them. Jack’s were: “I suck,” “I’m hopeless,” and “I’m a failure.” Others might be: “I’m unlovable,” “I’m corrupt,” or “I’m worthless.”
Lastly, we must identify what Scriptures combat our shaming statements. For example, if we, like Jack, say, “I am hopeless,” then we may combat that shaming statement with 1 Thessalonians 5:23, which says, “Now may the God of peace sanctify you completely...” This implies that God is the one who sanctifies; therefore, we can’t be hopeless. God isn’t done with us yet.
Tomorrow, we will go into detail on a fifth tool.
To read more on what Scripture says about this, see Mark 9:24, Hebrews 12:1-3, and 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
Chew On This:
What would be the biggest impact in your life if you were living fully free of shame and fully from the identity God gave you?
To continue to part 8 of our series, click here. To go back to part 6, click here.