”And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”
Colossians 2:13-14
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Galatians 5:1
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you;
he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”
Psalm 55:22
Jesus died a horrible, painful death on the cross so that we might be cleansed from all sin and shame. He didn’t pay this heavy price so we would wear ourselves out trying to carry the heavy weights from our failures.
In the past I’ve struggled to shoulder the weights of my sin and shame. When I would read the Bible, verses that were heavy with condemnation of sin stood out; I tended to minimize the passages about the love, grace, and forgiveness of God. Both sides of the truth and grace scale need to be embraced; one without the other produces a lopsided Christian. Focus on truth alone and we’re liable to become an empty, proud, doctrine head. Grace without truth can create spineless jellyfish who are easily offended and check out when the trials and warfare of life hit hard.
As the years progressed God showed me that I needed to unload every single burden, whether guilt or condemnation over my past mistakes and failures, the shame from my sin, or the shame of being molested and abused growing up. There are always lies hidden in these burdens, including the one that since I had failed so miserably, I deserved to suffer by carrying the heavy weight of my sin. There was a little bit of this weird reverse humility too, that “look at what a crappy sinner I am” thing that gets off on pity parties. (“Look at me” is a giveaway that it’s backdoor pride). Sure, we deserve none of the incredible gifts God has showered on us, but to park in unworthiness is to distance ourselves from all He wants to bless us with.
I ran into the quote that “the glory of God is man fully alive” a while back. This quote struck me, and I had to spend some time turning it over. Why should God care how we feel? Yet, He was killed for us, He gave us every spiritual blessing, we are given the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1), He offers us His strength (Isaiah 41 and many others, especially in the Psalms), and wisdom (James 1:5), and crazy thing – His joy (Nehemiah 8:10 and others). A man or woman who is freed from all guilt and shame and walking in the gifts of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and all of God’s other blessings glorifies God because others will see Him alive in us. We reflect His glory. The hard part is that entering a state of being fully alive demands that death to self has to occur on an ongoing basis. It’s not that we’re fully alive 24/7 but that we’re experiencing consistent touches of it. The “look at me’s”, pity parties, and obsession with the world and its pleasures have to go. Some people never make it there. There is plenty of opposition from the enemy too.
As I know too well, holding onto sin and shame blocks the soul from receiving all the glory and blessings that God desires to pour into our heart. Over the years, as I’ve walked with others in their journey to wholeness and healing, I’ve seen that there are many men and women who are buried under their sin and shame too, including pastors and men and women who have been in the church for decades.
There is an intense spiritual battle to keep God’s people in bondage to the burdens of their sin because he knows that once a believer can walk free from that stuff that he or she may become a spiritual dynamo. I’ve been blessed to see the immediate change that comes over one of God’s children when they are released from their burdens.
So let’s begin. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to light any sin or shame you’ve been carrying. It might be:
* Years of bondage to a certain sin, such as porn or other forms of sexual sin, and the wreckage and pain it has caused to you or your loved ones.
* Something you said that was hurtful or abusive to another person.
* Something you did physically that harmed another.
* Ongoing sins of anger, rage, pride, or arrogance, especially if they have hurt others. If you’re easily offended or sparked to anger this is a signal that something is off and you’ve more than likely buddied up with pride.
* Sins committed against you, such as physical or sexual abuse, which sprays and poisons the heart with shame.
For the sins that you’ve committed, pray along these lines. I will use a decades long porn and masturbation habit as an example.
“Lord, I confess that I have turned to pornography and masturbation for years. (Get more specific if you need to, such as if there was an affair or sex with prostitutes.) I’ve hurt myself and I’ve deeply hurt those I love, including my wife and family members. I’ve struggled with the shame and guilt from this sin and wreckage for a long time. In Jesus’ name I now release all of my sin and shame to the cross, including the shame of my sin and the shame of how I’ve hurt others. I refuse to carry these weights of sin and shame any longer, Lord, as You died to do away with it all. Please cleanse my mind, body, will, and emotions now by Your precious blood, Lord Jesus, from all of the effects and damage of sin and shame. I choose to walk in freedom. Thank you for forgiving and cleansing me.”
You can expect your spiritual enemy to come back at you and test your freedom with something like “See, you did it again. You’re a failure with no hope. Can God really forgive someone for the things you did and how you’ve hurt others?”
This is where you have to stand on the truth and reject the lies and stand on the truth and grace of God’s word. “No! God has forgiven me of all my sin. He has cleansed and forgiven me according to His promise in 1 John 1:9. I’m done carrying my sins and they are all at the cross now. In the name and authority of Jesus I command any evil spirits coming against me to leave my presence. I renounce all fear, shame, and condemnation.”
This is how spiritual warriors handle warfare and win.
Every believer is called to be a spiritual warrior and overcomer. Don’t sit there and allow the enemy to wail on you, or pretend there is no such thing as warfare, which many modern believers are doing. You know what they say about ostriches…
Perhaps you were sexually abused as I was growing up, and you feel soiled and shamed from what was done to you. Although you’ve forgiven the person who molested you, the shame still lingers (forgiveness and emotional healing are two different things). Or maybe you’re a wife whose husband has had a years-long battle with porn or sex addiction and you’re smeared with the shame of his acts. You can pray along these lines (modify as needed):
“Lord, I was sexually abused (or hurt by, in the case of the wife) by ____________ (name them). For years I’ve struggled with a deep sense of shame, self-loathing (or self-hatred), and unworthiness, along with a fear of intimacy. I’ve questioned whether I was at fault for what happened, which is a lie. Please touch my heart now, Lord Jesus. I release to You all of the effects of how I was hurt, including all of the shame, unworthiness, resentment, fear, difficulty trusting others, and every way this has harmed me, known or unknown. Please cleanse and heal my heart, mind, will, and emotions by Your precious blood. I will not carry these weights any longer. Thank you for answering my prayer. Please fill my heart with the truth, joy, peace, and love of God.”
If either of these situations are something you need to pray through, I encourage you to do so with another mature believer. (Hint – mature believers focus far more on listening than preaching or giving advice). Usually after someone has prayed like the above, I will pray something like this:
“Lord Jesus, I agree with my brother/sisters’ prayer. Please cleanse them now by Your precious blood of all the effects of how they have been hurt. Please heal and restore them emotionally, physically, and mentally. Please heal their heart and lift every burden, and flood their heart with your love, peace, and comfort. Please strengthen them in the truth of who they are and all that You’ve blessed them with.”
The prayers above involve healing, truth, and warfare simultaneously. This is where the power of prayer and the truth of the Bible destroy the work of the enemy and provide healing and freedom.
If you stumble in the future, take it to the cross, leave it there, and keep moving.
If you want help or prayer in any of these areas, please reply to this email.