In tomorrow's gatheirng we'll discuss shame resilence.
Q. Have you ever done something and later realized that your actions broke relationships?
Lisa Sharon Harper shares what shame looks like in The Very Good Gospel,
'For instance, it’s the sin of a father who disengages from the life of his son or daughter. It is the sin of a sibling who cuts his sister out of his life. It is the sin of a friend, classmate, or colleague who seeks her own interests at the expense of the other. It is the sin of a teacher who disengages from responsibility to educate the kids at the back of the room. It is the sin of a mayor who disengages from responsibility to steward whole swaths of a city. It is the sin of a legislator who disengages from responsibility to serve and protect whole people groups within a state or nation. These actions communicate lies to the souls of the brokenhearted about who they are, what they are capable of, and their value.'
The Bible is full of people who should've been overcome with shame. Consider David, who is credited with authoring Psalm 139. He was a murderer & adulteror. His actions surely broke relationships. Shame had every right to consume him. But it didn't. God wouldn't allow it.
Psalm 139:1-18 (INCL)
1 YHWH, you’ve searched me, and you know me. 2 You know if I am standing or sitting, you read my thoughts from far away. 3 whether I walk or lie down, you are watching; you are intimate with all of my ways. 4 A word is not even on my tongue, YHWH, before you know what it is: 5 you hem me in, before and behind, shielding me with your hand. 6 such knowledge is too wonderful for me, a height my mind cannot reach! 7 where could I run from your spirit? where could I flee from your presence? 8 if I go up to the heavens, you’re there; if I make my bed in Death, you’re already there. 9 I could fly away with wings made of dawn, or make my home on the far side of the sea, 10 but even there your hand will guide me, your mighty hand holding me fast. 11 if I say, “The darkness will hide me, and night will be my only light,” 12 even darkness won’t be dark to you; the night will shine like the day— darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You created my inmost being and stitched me together in my mother’s womb. 14 For all these mysteries I thank you— for the wonder of myself, for the wonder of your works— my soul knows it well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you while I was being made in that secret place, knitted together in the depths of the earth; 16 your eyes saw my body even there. All of my days were written in your book, all of them planned before even the first of them came to be. 17 How precious your thoughts are to me, O God! How impossible to number them! 18 I could no more count them than I could count the sand. But suppose I could? You would still be with me!
Let's meditate and center our gathering on these questions:
What made David so resilent to shame?
How can we embrace a similar resilence in our lives when facing shame?
Join the gathering tomorrow at 10:30 AM online.