"Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. Don't be afraid; there is no more disgrace for you. You will no longer remember the shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood.”~ Isaiah 54:4

I love this verse. It is so personal to me, because I spent so many years living in shame for how I treated my body....Which I now see was nothing more than the enemy trying to keep me in bondage to my past. Whether it was a recent binge he tried to bring me back to...or even something I did weeks, months or even years ago- he would constantly try to accuse me of something!

It wasn’t until I learned that one of satan’s names is actually ‘accuser’ (Revelation 12:10), that I realized what was actually taking place when I felt such horrible feelings of guilt and shame. God showed me that when I would allow these feelings to overwhelm me, I essentially ended up pondering and meditating on my sins. Whenever I would do this, I would find myself in such shame that I wouldn’t even want to spend time with Him. Looking back now, I realize that was EXACTLY what satan wanted!

So much of what the enemy tries to do is keep us hung-up on past mistakes, flaws, or setbacks. If the enemy can keep us in shame then he can keep us focused ourself, instead of what Jesus did for us, and finding out who we are IN Him.. If satan can get us caught up in our shameful ways, than he will fulfill his ultimate plan which is to keep us as feeling as far away from the Lord as possible!

The bible tells us that it is for FREEDOM that Christ set us free (Galatians 5:1). If you have made Jesus your Lord and Savior, then no matter what you have done in the past, or even present, you are FREE from the condemnation and guilt that comes with sin....Not because you are righteous, but because Jesus is righteous!

When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, the DEBT was paid in full. Therefore, the enemy has has no right to accuse us, because Jesus Christ has fully settled forever EVERY sin that God could have held against us, and it is paid in full. We are not only forgiven; we are declared righteous! The bible even tells us in Isaiah that God has “dressed us with the clothing of salvation and draped us in a robe of righteousness.” (61:10) ... Just think of it...The God of this universe looks at us, and because of what Jesus did to pay for our sins, He has put a robe of righteousness on us! What an honor!

Now, this doesn’t mean we can willfully live in sin, because when we do we give satan an ‘open’ door to destroy us. However, when we run to God, it is His love and kindness that draws us to repentance (Romans 2:4)! When we find out who we are in Him, and draw near to Him, it is there that we find our old nature falling off like an old ‘dress’ that doesn’t seem to fit us anymore!

So instead of focusing on what you have done, or how you have ‘messed up yet again’ remind yourself (and the enemy) that those things don’t define you because of what Jesus did! You are in right standing with God every moment of every day, because He looks at you and see’s you spotless...Not because of anything you did or didn’t do, but because Jesus paid a high price for you and me!

The next time you find yourself feeling guilty or shameful about something that happened in the past I encourage you to start to praising Jesus for what He did so that we could be free from condemnation and guilt! It’s time to get our eyes of ourselves and put them on Jesus and run to Him...For it is there that we will find true freedom from sin and the guilt and shame that comes with it!