Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced. – Isaiah 54:4
You have an enemy. He lies. He slanders your reputation. He forces guilt upon you. He challenges your thinking. From the beginning, Satan has tried to convince you that God is holding back from you… that in one way or another, He is depriving you of what you deserve in life. If what he whispers in your ears is true, then how can you fully trust God to have your best interests at heart? And if you can’t fully trust Him, then fear creeps in that paralyzes you from walking confidently with the Lord. It happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden, and that same fear is the tool Satan has used ever since.
God has promised you forgiveness in Jesus Christ. He has made a full provision for it. But is that enemy whispering that your past is too shameful? That God could never really fully forgive you? Does he want you to live in humiliation? In fear that “you could be found out?”
God’s Word says, “Don’t fear.” He delights to remove your shame. When Jesus suffered on the cross, He took all your shame upon Himself and paid the price for all your sin and failures (Hebrews 12:2). If you are battling with shame or humiliation, look to Jesus. He will bring forgiveness and full restoration into your life. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
Intercede for the nation’s leaders who are struggling with past guilt and recriminations to find forgiveness and freedom in Jesus.
Today’s Verse: Isaiah 54:4
“Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;
be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Genesis 3:1-13
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
