A Royal Relationship {Shame Conquered}

Name dropping. That lovely tool we use when we want to feel important. Telling others that we are associated with a famous person or an upstanding citizen makes us feel like we are worthy. We are right. Who you associate with can make or break your worthiness. The only problem? No human being on this earth can make us really acceptable. No human being can take away that feeling of being less than human. Only a King can deem us worthy. In order to conquer shame we need to develop a relationship with royalty...the Prince of Peace and the King of Kings.

"God is not a mere human. Humans disregard and ignore you; they stand over you in judgment; they shun, they avoid, they victimize. They accentuate your shame. And they can only contaminate. The Lord, however, is better than that, greater than that".
 --Shame Interrupted: How God Lifts the Pain of Worthlessness and Rejection by Edward T. Welch

Our greatest tool when we want to feel worthy is to associate with the Savior. He is the only one that can take our shame. Sin brings on shame. Interacting with people makes it big like a gorilla let out of a cage. On this side of heaven we can't escape sin or people. We actually need people {community} to grow in Christ. Since we can't escape either, we must run to our Redeemer, to keep ourselves centered. We exchange people's opinions of us for the opinion of Christ. It has been a constant battle for me to redirect my thinking when shame rears its ugly head, but slowly I am learning that God is capable of giving us dignity in the face of shameful circumstances.

If you struggle with shame like I do, here are some resources that can help...

-A list of  Who I Am in Christ.

-Keep yourself in God's Word. It can set your thinking straight when you struggle.  Here is a list of great women's Bible studies.

-Memorize God's Word that tells of your royal association and how you are not put to shame.
I Peter 2:9
Psalm 45:11
Psalm 22:5
Isaiah 54:4
II Thessalonians 2:5

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.  Psalm 71:1