King David and Shame

Synopsis     Psalms 69:1-25     11/24/2021 

King David expressed anguish. In that moment, he felt stuck in a deep mire. He was overwhelmed because his enemies had ganged up on him.  

At this moment, he acknowledged his own failings and sins. However, even his laments, fastings and self-abasement were used by his adversaries to shame him. As a result, he felt cut off even from his own family. 

Even so, David prayed to God. He did not give up petitioning God until God gave an answer. Despite the evil and mockery that others did to him, he waited for God’s help. 

David and Shame 

David recognized the power of shame. He understood that shameful feelings can break a relationship. But he determined not to let this happen. No matter how ashamed and unworthy others made him feel, he looked to God for his sense of identity and acceptance.  

Shame, Identity and Acceptance 

Shame is a powerful phenomenon. So powerful in fact, I hesitate to describe it as a mere emotion. In the way that checkmate is related to the game of chess, shame is closely related to the power of original sin. 

I feel ashamed that I am not as powerful as God. And I feel ashamed for even thinking such a thought. And though these two different kinds of shame work differently in my psyche, they both force my soul away from right relationship with God.  

Together, they block my ability to believe that God accepts me as I am. As a result, they shade my ability to see myself as a child of God.  

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” 1 Peter 1:3