Do Not Let Me Be Ashamed

I was reading Psalm 25:1-3 today. For me, it is an old song, which has a special resonance for me, with memories of the 1970s and my childhood:

"To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse."

On December 29, in a post titled "Facing Fear", I shared that although I have no fear of dying, per se, I did have three primary fears to face:

1. Fear of pain - The Lord has amazingly helped me to address this fear. Not that I don't flinch if I think of intense pain (don't we all?), but I know that with the Lord's grace, I can literally face anything (see my post "Grace in Action" for details on how the Lord did this).

2. Fear of incapacity - Although the Lord hasn't specifically addressed this fear for me (yet?), in many ways this is similar to the fear of pain for me. Once again, the Lord's grace is "sufficient for [me], for [God's] power is made perfect in [my] weakness" (or incapacity).

3. Fear of shame - This is a major fear that has continued to be quite real for me. As I mentioned in the post "Facing Fear", I have less of a fear of dying than a fear of being ashamed, if I should die from cancer.

For this reason, I've gone before the Lord about this third primary fear, and the Lord has begun to speak clearly into my life. This is what I want to share with you this morning.

Even when I wrote the post "Facing Fear", the Lord had already begun to encourage me from his Word. Here are just two of the words the Lord had brought to my attention:

• Isaiah 54:4 - "Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated."

• Philippians 1:20 - "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death."

This last scripture is particularly significant for me, since it is out of Philippians 1:19-26 that the Lord originally spoke to me, when I first discovered I had cancer, and it is upon this passage that I have primarily based my conviction that God will, in fact, heal me of cancer. In other words, Philippians 1:19-26 is the primary "word" on which my faith for healing is founded (note Romans 10:17).

But it is one thing for the Lord to speak words of comfort and promise in the midst of fear; it is another thing entirely when the Lord begins to address the roots of the fear itself. And between the time that I wrote the post "Facing Fear" until this morning, this is what the Lord has been doing.

The first thing the Lord did was to reinforce his promise. So take a quick look at the following passages of Scripture:

• Psalm 34:5 - "Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame."

• Psalm 69:6 - "May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me, O Lord, the LORD Almighty; may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me, O God of Israel."

• Psalm 119:80 - "May my heart be blameless toward your decrees, that I may not be put to shame."

• Proverbs 18:13 - "He who answers before listening that is his folly and his shame."

• Isaiah 45:17 - "But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting."

• Isaiah 50:7 - "Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame."

• Romans 9:33 - "As it is written: 'See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

• Romans 10:11 - "As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in [God] will never be put to shame."

All these promises culminated in the passage of Scripture the Lord gave me this morning - Psalm 25:1-3 - which I quoted at the beginning of this post:

"To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse."

The key, I realise, is trust in the Lord. It is because "in you I trust, O my God" that I can say with confidence, "No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame."

The main reason for my fear of shame has to do with "what if" questions: "What if I don't get healed? What if, after stating so clearly that I believe God will heal me, that God doesn't heal me? What if...What if...?" Fear thrives on "what if" scenarios. In fact, the "what if" question is the primary fuel of fear. And yet I don't believe it's practical to say to someone, "If you have true faith, you won't ask 'what if?'" Everybody asks "what if?" God has given us a reasoning mind. We do not need to "switch off" our minds in order to have faith in God's promises.

The problem is that Satan quite effectively hijacks our reasoning faculties to spawn countless "what if" scenarios that assault out thinking, producing worry, anxiety and fear. That's why the Lord constantly says to us, "Do not fear!" and "Don't be afraid!" (Genesis 15:1; Deuteronomy 1:21,29; Psalm 46:1-3; Isaiah 40:9; Isaiah 41:10,13,14; Isaiah 54:4; Zephaniah 3:16; 1 Peter 3:14). He knows how we are made (Psalm 103:13-14), and has taken this fully into account in his dealings with us.

I know that I'm not alone in this concern - the desire to be careful not to bring God's name into disrepute. This is quite a common worry among many Christians, particularly when others are praying for their healing. "What if I don't get well, and this rocks the faith of those who are young in the Lord?" they might think. "What if I'm not healed, and this causes someone else to stumble?" This same fear was voiced by David in Psalm 69:6, when he wrote:

"May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me, O Lord, the LORD Almighty; may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me, O God of Israel."

David's concern was not so much for himself but for others "who hope in [the Lord]." David's cry was that "those who seek you [would] not be put to shame because of me."

But God has been gently encouraging me and correcting me over the last couple of weeks. One of the things I've come to realise is that God is big enough to take care of himself! He's been around a lot longer than I have, and he doesn't need me to look out for him. Although obviously I want to bring glory to his name, it is actually the height of egotism for me to worry that my actions might in some way permanently harm his reputation. Long after I'm gone, God will still be God. He will still be faithful, still ever the same. People will still be putting their faith in him, still walking with him. I'm barely a ripple in the pond.

Not only this, but God has challenged me to the core regarding my very motivations when I say, "Lord, let me not be ashamed." I've realised that the focus is on me, on my feelings, on my pride - actually on my reputation, not God's! God, as I said, is able to take care of himself. All I need to be concerned about is that I am walking on the path of righteousness he has set for me. As long as I am following him, I can leave the ultimate consequences of my obedience in the hands of the Lord.

Things have changed for me over the past couple of weeks. When I pray, "Lord, let me not be ashamed," the focus of my prayer has shifted. Now, there is only one issue at stake for me. And that is, when I ultimately stand before the Lord in glory, it is then that I do not want to be ashamed! It is no longer man that I'm worried about being put to shame before - it is God! In Mark 8:38, Jesus said:

"If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

The focus now is whether I am "ashamed of [Jesus] and [his] words in this adulterous and sinful generation." It's his opinion, not man's opinion, that ultimately counts. What ultimate shame it would be to stand before Jesus and realise that my attitudes in life brought shame to him. What deep and bitter weeping that would bring.

God has embraced me, even though I never deserved it. He is "proud" to call me his child. Just take a look at these two verses:

• Hebrews 2:11 - "Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers."

• Hebrews 11:16
  Instead, they were longing for a better countrya heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."

The reason why God is not ashamed of these people is because of their faith. Hebrews 11:6 (Amplified Bible) tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to [God]." It is faith that is "the victory that has overcome the world" (1 John 5:4). It is faith that banishes shame in the presence of God.

What an incredible joy it is to know that God is not ashamed of me! And that's not because I've done anything spectacular. It's just because of my simple faith in him! I'm trusting God, despite the circumstances, despite the "what if's". I know that he is worthy of this trust. And if that brings joy to God's heart, that's all that matters to me. And even if I have to endure shame in the world, this is more than counteracted by the joy I bring to God's heart.

Jesus also took this view. In Hebrews 12:2 we are told that Jesus "for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." No one suffered undeserved shame like Jesus did, yet it was not the opinions of man that matter to him, but the opinion of his Father. I too am willing to endure shame, if necessary, "for the joy set before me"!

Paul also experienced potential shame due to suffering that resulted from his walk with the Lord, yet in 2 Timothy 1:12 he wrote:

"That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day."

Peter echoed the same sentiment when he wrote in 1 Peter 4:16:

"However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name."

Although Peter is speaking specifically of persecution, and the type of suffering which results from standing up for the name of Jesus, I believe this verse also applies to all "valley of the shadow of death" types of suffering. In other words, if we suffer as a Christian, because we are walking the "path of righteousness", there is no cause for shame.

In closing, I'd like to share one more thing that the Lord has taught me in the last two weeks. In 2 Timothy 2:15, Paul wrote to Timothy:

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."

I find it interesting that Paul links two concepts together:

1. Not being ashamed
2. Correctly handling the word of truth

As a workman, "approved" by God, if I don't want to be ashamed before him, I need to correctly handle the word of truth, or as the King James Version puts it, "rightly dividing the word of truth." In other words, I'm not grasping after the best and most appropriate promise I can find in God's Word, clinging to it, and then calling that "faith." No, this is a shallow and superficial "handling [of] the word of truth." Instead, I'm seeking God for his will for my life, as revealed in the general guidance of his Word, and then applying the balance of Scripture to my situation. After all, it is not being ashamed of Jesus "and [his] words" (Mark 8:38) that releases me from the shame that really matters before God.

I particularly like how The Amplified Bible brings out the many nuances and shades of meaning in 2 Timothy 2:15:

"Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth."

Even though it is God's praise, not man's praise, that counts for me, I also believe it is how I handle the promises of God that ultimately affects whether I experience shame or glory in the presence of men. For as Proverbs 18:13 puts it, "He who answers before listening - that is his folly and his shame." If I truly listen to God, and not just answer out of what I think should happen, then the result, whatever the actual outcome, will never be folly or shame. If I allow "[his] words to remain in [me]" (John 15:7), then I will "bear much fruit", showing myself to be Jesus' disciple, which will be "to my Father's glory" (John 15:8).

God has very effectively addressed my fear of being put to shame. He has done this by correcting my perspective, changing my focus, and reinforcing my faith in him. I have a confidence that when I go to stand before the Lord, I will not be ashamed, for I know that "my heart [is] blameless toward your decrees, [and so] I [will] not be put to shame" (Psalm 119:80). And so I can voice the same confidence that Isaiah did in Isaiah 50:7:

"Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame."

In time, I will appear before the throne of God's glory. And I'm longing to hear those words from the Lord in Matthew 25:21 (and when I hear them, I'm sure I will break down and cry):

"Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord."