For many of us, the voice of our inner critic is deafening, and quickly demeans our value or worth because of the pain we carry around from our past because of what we’ve done or what has been done to us.
Work around us, Lord, we seem to say. Not in us and through us. Self-defense mechanisms are all working overtime. If we would be or do anything for the Master, we must face and overcome this gremlin.
Shame stings, but it need not be deadly. Although people and circumstances around us may still shame us (and it hurts), Christ can release us from its destructive power.