OVERCOMING FEELINGS OF SHAME

READ: 1 Samuel 10:1-27

FOCUS VERSE: 1 Samuel 10:22 Samuel went back to God: “Is he anywhere around?” God said, “Yes, he’s right over there-hidden in that pile of baggage.”

When the Israelites assembled to choose a king, Saul aready knew he was the one (vs 1) Instead of stepping up he hid amongst the baggage. Often we hide from important responsibilities because we are afraid of failure, afraid of what other people may think. Or, we may just be to ashamed of our past to move forward. Recovery is a process of stepping up to our responsibilities. Of relying on God to provide and equip us for the task ahead rather than hiding in our feelings of SHAME.

FEELINGS:

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out.

– You can’t trust your feelings:

1 John 3:18-20 My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. [19] This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. [20] It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

– Walk the Walk:

Proverbs 28:26 If you think you know it all, you’re a fool for sure; real survivors learn wisdom from others.

– You don’t have all the answers:

Proverbs 14:12-13 There’s a way of life that looks harmless enough; look again-it leads straight to hell.[13] Sure, those people appear to be having a good time, but all that laughter will end in heartbreak.

– Follow the Steps:

2 Tim. 3:1-5 Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. [2] As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, [3] dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, [4] treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. [5] They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people.

– It’s not always going to be easy:

1 John 2:15 Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father.

– Learn and live God’s purpose for you:

Overcoming Insecurity:

Philip. 4:6-9 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. [7] Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. [8] Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious-the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. [9] Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

– Stop worrying:

Ephes. 6:10-13 God is strong, and he wants you strong. [11] So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. [12] This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. [13] Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet.

– Be prepared:

Romans 12:2 Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

– Accept and expect change:

OVERCOMING FEELINGS OF REJECTION:

Luke 6:22 “Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable.

– Count your blessings:

Romans 8:28 ……. we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

– Think and live positively:

Matthew 10:14 If they don’t welcome you, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.

– Not everyone is going to be supportive:

OVERCOMING FEELINGS OF SHAME:

Philip. 3:13 Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward-to Jesus.

– Rely on Jesus:

1 John 1:9 ……… if we admit our sins-make a clean breast of them-he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing.

– Confess your shame:

2 Cor. 7:10 Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets.

– Shame is part of the recovery process:

Isaiah 43:18-19 “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. [19] Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.

– Get on with living:

Joel 2:25 “I’ll make up for the years of the locust, the great locust devastation-Locusts savage, locusts deadly,fierce locusts, locusts of doom,That great locust invasion I sent your way.

– Nothing is impossible with God.