When Shame Stops You from Telling Your Story

for Susan

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe (Psalm 107:2).

“You stopped before telling me the story. Go back and tell me the story!”

Her request rang against the slap, slap, slap of our footsteps on the pavement as we ran in the early morning sunlight. My friend Susan had been listening intently as I shared a painful betrayal, a celebration stopped short by another person’s hurtful words. 

I had recently rallied the courage to include others in a celebration of a hard-earned accomplishment, only to be criticized and gossiped about by a person who I thought was a friend.

The incident sent my mind into a tailspin of humiliation. I was flooded with thoughts like You should never have brought attention to yourself anyway. You are so prideful; serves you right. Everyone can see you are a bad person just pretending to be good.

Shame speaks directly, accusingly.

Shame’s lies are cruel and heart-stopping. And in the moment, they sound true.

My footsteps landed heavy as I now poured out the pain in my heart to Susan. In shame’s eclipse, I had forgotten my original reason for celebration, God’s story behind it.

“Hurting people hurt people. But they can’t stop God’s story,” Susan said gently.

Her words were wise and true, and I could feel them swirling downward, settling deep into my inmost parts.

She was right. The shame I felt from the actions of another had silenced my joy and sent the narrative in a new direction. And I have power over that. 

We can choose to tell the story of what God has done in our lives no matter the obstacles #shame throws our way. In fact, if we don’t tell our stories, shame wins. #courage #coveredglory Click To Tweet

Shame’s signature is silence. Joy’s signature is proclamation.

I pushed shame aside and chose joy. As I told Susan the story of God’s faithfulness and help in reaching my goal, the joy flooded back. I grew animated with happiness and remembered why I chose to take the risk to invite others into my celebration.

Shame retreated from my heart and I remembered how powerful my testimony can be. 

Testimony is a synonym for true-story telling. The true stories of His work in our lives need to be told. #storytelling #truth Click To Tweet

The naysayers, the hurting ones who hurt us when we are mid-story, they can’t stop God’s tale of grace. If we choose to, those same people can even become instruments of greater grace in our narrative when we bring them to the Lord in prayer.

When shame stops you from telling your story, run as fast as you can to the Storyteller. Ask Him to show you what is true. He used a trusted friend anchored in God’s Word to do that for me, and I remembered my story of joy, the one that shame tried to keep from being told.

Lord, make me brave and give me a voice to tell Your story in my life even when shame tries to silence me. Amen.