“So NEVER be ashamed to tell others about our LORD. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for Him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News.” II Timothy 1:8

 

Today is TRUTH BOMB TUESDAY, and I came very close to not writing today’s Blog!
I actually, came very close to quitting my Blog altogether! However, God woke me up early on this Truth Bomb Tuesday, and told me to “JUST DO IT!”

Now I know that is a NIKE theme, that the company has made millions off of it. And, I am a NIKE fan! I run in their shoes, I ski in their warm but flexible outerwear. But the feeling of shame and doubt that came over me the last two days, could not have been overcome by any excellent product NIKE has put out.

As hard as it is for me to share this truth with you, it is the truth. I am typically an upbeat, positive, energetic person. I seriously believe that is just the way God made me. I don’t believe it’s the “right” way to be, or the “only” way to be. I would never teach anyone else to be that way or preach that anyone should be that way. It is simply just the way God made me.

My mom used to tell me that she would go into my crib in the morning to pick me up, and I would be standing there shaking the rail of the crib with a big smile on my face, ready to get out. I loved the fact that it was morning, and a new day. The love of my life, loves to say that “I am so positive that I am not realistic.” While I may not agree with his assessment, I do agree that I tend to walk on the “Bright Side of Life.” I’m fairly confident that if you asked my children what one word would they use to describe me, that one word would fall somewhere in the realm of positive. Much of the time to their great frustration at “tying to get the best of me!”

But yesterday something happened. It was no great act of discouragement, no one yelled at me or sent me a nasty note, alougth it would not have been the first time. No catastrophic accident took place, there was no financial crisis or family emergency, I just simply felt ashamed.
I can’t put my finger on it, but it overtook me. I read every scripture I could get my hands on. I listened to every devotional I could find on my phone. I even tuned in to a wonderful webinar and listened to encouraging women in Christian leadership. It didn’t matter, my sense of shame only grew stronger. I felt, in the words I wrote to my manager, (my daughter), “that I was not going to write my Blog anymore, that there is plenty of good quality stuff out there, and thousands of people listen to it.”

I had gone down the dark path of ‘COMPARISON’, and shame had begun to creep into my heart. It didn’t matter what encouraging words she wrote me. It didn’t matter what Truth from God’s Word my husband spoke over me, SHAME was winning the day! I gave up, I quit, and I went to bed!

Oh, I gave effort to combat the shame. I opened my Blog page and looked for comments on my last post, there were none. I prayed and ask God to take this feeling away and show me what He wanted me to do. I was too caught up in my shame and comparison game to hear Him. I sat on the couch alone and discouraged and opened up His Word. A word faced me, I thought the word was LOVE, but as I began to trace the word with my pen, I realized the word was LORD!

Now you probably are thinking, that did it, HE IS LORD, I am NOT, and that turned me around!
NO, it did not!

As embarrassing as it is to admit, that propelled my SHAME into self-pity. Oh, how I HATE self-pity! But I was deep in it! I left my Bible open to that word, and went to bed, feeling completely ASHAMED!

Then, early this morning God woke me up, and said “JUST DO IT!” And this incredible truth came to my mind…Self-discipline is knowing the right thing to do, and doing it! Self-discipline is also knowing the wrong thing to do, and not doing it! And, more importantly,
“…NEVER BE ASHAMED TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT OUR LORD…!”
It was right there in front of me before I went to bed, LORD, but my eyes were so clouded with self-shame, that I could not see it clearly.

The verse finishes with;
“and don’t be ASHAMED of me either, even if I am in prison for Him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the GOOD NEWS.”

The GOOD NEWS is the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ. It is the Truth of His death, burial, and resurrection, it is the only TRUTH worth proclaiming! It is the only Truth that will stand the test of time! It is the only Truth that will heal the brokenhearted, rescue those in slavery, give strength to the weary and take away our shame!

SO, JUST DO IT! Use whatever personality, character and gifts He has given you, to proclaim His Truth through your life in whatever place He has put you in!

Like my VLOG reminds us, GOD IS IN CONTROL OF ALL THINGS, EVEN THE WEATHER!
The God who turned an entire mountain range from dirty brown, to glistening white, in less than twelve hours, can take away your shame, my shame, your doubts and fears, my doubts and fears, and take us out of the ‘Comparison Game’, and put us back in the ‘Good News Game.’

By whatever means God has given you, NEVER BE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL, it is the ONLY POWER TO SAVE!

I love you, respect you, thank God for you, and will see you back here next TUESDAY!

Speak Truth Love