City Life Starter

The Word: Psalm 32:5

“I acknowledged my sin to You.

And my iniquity I have not hidden.

I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

Luke 15: 11-24

“Then He said, ‘A certain man had two sons:

And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of the goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

“’But when he came to himself, he said, ‘how many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.’

“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’…”

Reflection Questions

1. Do you think shame is a normal part of life, or do you think you can be free from all shame?
2. How badly do you want freedom from shame?
3. Are you willing to confess your shame (your deepest secret) to another?

By Heather Mattingly

Have you ever felt like your shame was too much to bear? That God wouldn’t or couldn’t forgive you if He really knew what you had done? He already knows your deepest, darkest secret, and He’s still running after you to bring you home to His everlasting arms. He is a good Father who yearns to forgive you, and He sacrificed His own Son on the cross to prove it! He is desperately in love with you and has done anything and everything to bring you home, make you whole, and set your feet “upon a rock, and establish [your] steps” (Psalm 40:2).

David knew and understood this feeling of overwhelming shame. Although David was a mighty man of faith, he also committed murder, adultery, had a lot of wives and concubines and was a bad father. But just because David failed at times didn’t mean that David was a failure. David worked through shame caused by his failures by taking it directly to God rather than hiding it. He writes in Psalm 32:5 that he “..acknowledged [his] sin” to God, did not “hide his iniquity,” and he “confessed his transgressions” to God.

The Story above from Luke’s Gospel is the Lord Jesus’ parable of the prodigal sons. He told this story to illustrate how God looks upon sinners – upon us – not with an angry, I’m-out-to-get-you-glare, but as a Father yearning for His children to come back home.

Can you imagine the shame the younger son in this story felt? Can you see him in a picture in your mind: starving, doing all he could to avoid crawling back home, but finally realizing he would either have to go home to his father or starve to death? Do you think his shame grew even stronger on his journey home? The Bible doesn’t tell us this, but I imagine that this young man was looking down at his feet throughout his journey back home, and because he was looking down at his feet, he probably missed this scene:

Luke 15:20 says, “..when he was still a great way off, his father saw him…..” Did you catch that? When his son was still “a great way off,” he saw him….this means that his dad was actively looking for him! His dad – this old, weathered man – was standing outside in the elements looking and looking, and hoping and hoping, that his boy would come home. “Maybe today? Could it be today? Please let today be the day my son will come home to me!”

This scene is exactly how God, our Father, looks upon us within our shame. Will you lift your eyes from your feet to see Him gazing at you and begging you to come home to Him today? The safest place for you to be is in His arms. David writes in Psalm 32:7 that, “You are my hiding place.” Will you make Jesus your hiding place?

It’s one thing to know this in your head, and another to know this in your heart and experience this kind of freedom. How do you actually do this when you are in the depths of shame? I know these words are easy to write and difficult to do. It takes courage to lift our eyes out of our shame and onto Him, but if we “are strong and courageous,” we will find that the Lord “is with us wherever we go” (Joshua 1:9).

Both David and the younger prodigal son took the same path to freedom:

1. Acknowledged their sin (Psalm 32:5 “I acknowledged my sin to You…”
2. Went straight to God the Father (Psalm 32:5 “..And my iniquity I have not hidden…”
3. Confessed their sin (Psalm 32:5 “..I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’….

You’ve told God you’re willing to be set free if He will show you the way. Are you willing to reach out to others and tell someone what you’re struggling with and that you need help? This is bringing darkness into the Light. Other believers are the body of Christ, and are His hands that want to embrace you! As Pastor JR Ruiz said, “you can’t become all God made you be without community.” Will you let Jesus be Your hiding place? (Psalm 32:7)?

Prayer

“Father, I’m tired of being ashamed of ____________. I want to be free and believe You want this for me, too. I believe You when You say that ‘…if the Son makes [me] free, [I] shall be free indeed.’ (John 8:36). I don’t know what to do, but I do know that my shame is beyond me and I can’t do this alone. Will You show me how to make You my hiding place? Will You show me how to be free and fully known and fully loved by You?”