Is God Mad at Me? | Move Past Shame and Grow Closer to God

Moving Past Shame to Grow Closer to God

Shame is a natural response to our guilt of sin. After committing sin, the weigh our guilt and shame can hold us down and keep us from looking up towards God. It can feel like God is mad at us, which in turn makes us feel an even greater weight of shame. It is interesting how our natural inclination after sin is to run away from the Lord, when He is the one who we should actually be running to.

How to Move Past Shame and Grow Closer to God

Don’t Hide from God

Genesis 2:25 says, “Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” Before they sinned, they had no shame and were in a close relationship with God. In Genesis chapter 3, only 3 chapters into the Bible, we read that Adam and Eve felt shame for their nakedness, after eating of the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve hide from the presence of the Lord after they sinned because they felt guilt and embarrassment for their nakedness.

Genesis 3:6-9 reads, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’”

After hearing the sound of God walking in the garden, they were afraid, so they hid from the Lord. Just like a child who disobeys their parent may hide from their wrongdoing, we can do the same thing with God. God is omniscient, which means that He already knew that Adam and Eve had sinned before He came to them. We don’t need to hide from God when we sin, rather we need to run to God.

Application:

Though it may feel like God is mad at you, God longs to be in fellowship with you. Just like God came to Adam and Eve after they sinned, He comes to you too. God is calling for you, “Where are you?” Sin breaks that close relationship with God, but Jesus restores it.

Run to God’s Redemption

There is a way out of shame, and His name is Jesus Christ. The forbidden fruit was pleasing to the eyes of Eve and because she believed the serpent’s deceit, the consequence of their sin lead to punishment. Along with being banished from the garden of Eden and separated from God, the Father. BUT the Lord God had a plan of redemption for us, even in the midst of this all.

To cover their shame, God clothed Adam and Eve with garments of skin of a slaughtered animal in Genesis 3:21. This sacrifice is a representation of the Lamb of God—Jesus—who sacrificed His life for the atonement of the sins of God’s people. As children of God, that means that the Lord has clothed us too! There is no shame in Christ. We can rejoice and be glad that we have been redeemed and one day we will get to live in eternity with God forever—no sin, no separation, no shame, no hiding. Praise God!!!

Lord Father,

Thank you, thank you for covering us with the precious blood of Jesus! Thank you for making a way back to You, while we were still sinners. Our spirits long to be with You for eternity! May we grow to be more like Christ and grow closer to You in this life. We worship only You; we praise only You. For You alone deserve our full praise.

In Jesus’ Name

Amen

Our enemy—“that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray” (Revelation 12:9)—wants us to follow his evil ways. Satan wants to keep us in shame and separated from God. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to “destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8) by covering our sins with His perfect sacrifice on the cross. God forgave us while we were still sinners.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8, NIV

We have redemption through Christ, in order to restore our relationship with God, the Father. Satan may throw his tricks at us now, but we stand on the truth that God defeated Satan through His plan of salvation through Jesus Christ our Savior.

Application:

As a follower of Christ, you have been covered with His sacrifice—the free gift for anybody who wants to follow. Jesus is the atonement for your sin, so that there is no longer shame. In His mercy, God provides a way to renew your fellowship with Him through Christ. It is only though God that you are made clean, as white as snow, and a new creation. Repent of your sins and shame and God covers you with the blood of Christ.

Walk in God’s Ways

The awesome thing about a relationship with God is that we don’t have to clean ourselves from our sins before we can come to God—that’s what Christ did for us—we can to come to God just as we are. We don’t need a shower to come to God; we need to go to God for a shower. The Lord leads us in the way we should go, we only need to follow Him.

God commands us to walk in the righteousness of Christ. Christ lived the perfect life, which is an example for us on how to live a pleasing life to God. Although we should always strive to follow the example of Christ, we are still human and make mistakes. Jesus covers those mistakes; Jesus paid the price for sin and shame.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Christ’s grace is sufficient for us! Let us not hide our weaknesses, but rather expose them to the light. Repent from sin—turn from sin—then walk in the light of the Lord.

“Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”

Ephesians 5:7-11, ESV

Application:

God covers your sins and leads in you in the way of righteousness. Be obedient to where God is leading you and what He is telling you to avoid. God is so good, and all His ways are good. Christ’s grace is sufficient for you! Expose the light to your sins, then walk in the light. God is right there with you and He loves so very much.



“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

Psalm 103:8-12, NIV