The Lord has done a lot within my heart and life this last
year specifically, which is something that I want to share in time. It takes a while for me to process, but I
believe it is easier for me in writing.
On days such as today, when I don’t have much “in the moment” stuff to
share, I want to take time to testify to the Lord’s work in me.
I was reading in Zephaniah 3 this morning, and the end of verse
19 says, “…I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.” While looking at the context of this verse,
it seems that the Lord is speaking of how He is going to set His people free
from captivity – literally taking care of their enemies and showing His glory
in a more manifest way.
Meditating on this verse brought me to think of what the
Lord has revealed to me about shame though.
During one evening of Christmas break, I was overwhelmed with focusing
on my sinful nature. My usual tendency
was to come to a place where I was faced with all of my sin and therefore
become really self-focused. Thankfully
that night though, the Lord allowed me to pray it out and dwell in some
Psalms. He gave me a song that night,
and in many ways, He renewed my mind through that whole process.
Some of the greatest news to us is that Jesus took our sin
upon the cross. This seems elementary,
but it’s so key. He took ALL of it. Even greater still, He knows what we are
capable of because He was human as well.
He experienced the greatest of temptations and never gave in to them. This is why Hebrews 4:16 is such great news! “Let us then with confidence draw near to the
throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of
need.”
Jesus knows the depths of our sinfulness and loves us the
same. He already knows what we are
capable of and what we’ve done, so instead of running to shame – being overwhelmed
by our sin – let us run freely to the feet of Jesus. Believers are sons and daughters of the King,
and He runs His Kingdom based upon grace.
Whenever we are faced with our sin, let us look more fully into the face
of Christ. Everything else falls into
place when we grow more and more in the image of Christ Jesus. We were made for this. We can have joy in our weakness, because He has already paid the price. Our ability to overcome is only through
Jesus.
Literally, I’ve come away from seeing my sin in light of
Jesus’ death and resurrection with a bubbling up of joy inside my heart!! I pray that the Lord shows you how to run to
His throne of grace instead of shame.
May you have joy instead of sorrow!
It’s not a one-time, I’ve-got-it-figured-out sort of thing. God will constantly be renewing our minds
through the Holy Spirit, but I want to see this freedom be worked out in you as
well.
Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!
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