Confidence Keeps Us From Being Ashamed - A Series on Confidence, Part 19
“And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”
“And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
Have you ever been ashamed? Have you ever done something so awful that you couldn't look anyone else in the eye because your guilt was eating you alive? I saw an example of this a few days ago when I was watching Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Brian, Dr. Mike's youngest adopted son, discovered that many of his friends were going to a train show in Denver and were planning to showcase their various train cars, which they had stolen. They informed Brian that he could go too as long as he brought his own train car. When he admitted he didn't have enough money, they convinced him that Mr. Bray, the local store owner, would respect Bryan more if he stole the train engine rather than paying for it outright.
The desire to attend the train show outweighed Brian's sense of right and wrong, and he took the train engine. One would think he would have been happy. After all, he was a hero in the eyes of his friends, and he had earned his ticket to the Denver train show. But his guilt wouldn't allow happiness or sleep or even an appetite. Day after day, the shame plagued him until he finally went to Mr. Bray and admitted his wrongdoing.
The Bible tells us that confidence will keep us from being ashamed, but how does that work? Even those of us who are saved still sin and do things that cause guilt and regret, so doesn't it stand to reason that we should be ashamed? Yes and no. Again, we must reflect on our confidence in God's promises. Doesn't He say that our sins are cast as far as the east is from the west? (Psalm 103:12) Doesn't the Bible tell us that God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins if we'll confess them? (I John 1:9) Aren't we promised that God has blotted out our sins and doesn't remember them anymore? (Isaiah 43:25)
So, if God has forgiven and forgotten, why can't we? God recognizes that our sin is under the blood, and after we confess it to Him, our relationship with Him is repaired and He never thinks another thing of it. We are the ones who can't let go. We're the ones who relive the event, wallowing in the guilt and shame. But if we are truly confident in God's promises and in His forgiveness, then we need not be ashamed. Get it right and move on. Don't look back. Yes, we made a mistake, but it's over and done with. God doesn't see it anymore, so we shouldn't either. Instead, we should stand confidently before Him, knowing we've been forgiven.
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We can go even further with this point of confidence keeping us from being ashamed by saying that it is our confidence in Who God is and what He does that makes us bold in our witness for Him. Years ago, Jason and I joined an MLM company and tried to sell a health beverage. While I loved the stuff and felt it helped me, I couldn't justify the price. Twenty-five dollars a bottle is expensive! Needless to say, we didn't sell a lot. We believed in the product, but we were embarrassed by its price. Confidence in God means we're not embarrassed by any part of Him. We stand behind "the product," which means we can boldly proclaim our Lord to anyone anywhere, never fearing ridicule. Unashamed of the gospel!
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And to take it even one step further still, our confidence in God will result in our standing unashamed before Christ one day. How many times did Jesus rebuke the disciples, saying, "Oh, ye of little faith"? How embarrassing! What would it be like to stand before the Lord of all creation and hear Him ask, "Why couldn't you just believe?" I don't know about you, but I don't want to find out. And if I'll keep my confidence in God, I won't have to. Instead, I can stand before God and hear Him proclaim, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Well done. Not because of anything I had done other than the fact that I placed my confidence in God and God alone. That's it! Talk about a participation trophy!
Shame is a heavy load to bear, but if we have confidence in God, we don't have to bear it. When we do wrong, let's confess it and then leave it. If God can forget it, there's no reason we shouldn't too. When we have the opportunity to be a witness for Christ (which we have every single day), let's be bold and courageous. Who cares if people laugh? We're not ashamed of the One we're talking about. And one day, when we stand before Christ, we needn't fear shame over our lack of belief because we're taking God at His word right here, right now.
Move over, shame. Confidence has come to take your place!