“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. For your Creator will be your husband; the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth.” Isa. 54:4-5 (NLT)
Dear heavenly Father, you come to us so faithfully in your Word, giving welcome to the exiled, balm for the broken, and grace for the disgraced. Thank you for your tenacious tenderness, inexhaustible patience, and heart-healing kindness. Thank you that I don’t have to be ashamed of my lingering battle with shame. Thank you for the promise that one Day I will be completely free, healthy, and whole.
Until that Day, I will blast my heart with the good news—the true news. You are not ashamed of me, Father. In fact, you delight in me—as hard as that is to believe at times. Your gaze is the gaze of grace. When you look at me, you not only see the righteousness of Jesus, with which you’ve clothed me, you see me and desire me.
There’s nothing about me you don’t know. There’s nothing left to discover, shock, or disappoint you. You don’t love me as I should be, or will be, but as I am right now—your beloved child, en route to becoming more like Jesus. Thank you, Father, thank you—words that come easily, but words that feel woefully inadequate to express my sense of gratitude, relief and peace.
As this day begins, and will end, I bless you that there’s no more disgrace for me and that I no longer have to live in shame; that Jesus is my Spouse and the armies of heaven are marshaled against all the lies of the enemy; that your name is Redeemer and my name is beloved. So very Amen I pray, in Jesus’ merciful and mighty name.
