GUEST WRITER SERIES
Writer, Speaker, and Encourager, Tabytha Wynn
I had always felt an overwhelming sense of shame. Like a heavy weight on my back, I carried around all this shame I put on myself.
Shame from abuse, shame from how I handled pretty much every situation in my life, shame from mistakes I’ve made, and issues I now have in my life from making those mistakes. In the past, I have gone to God with this, knowing that He forgives ALL sins and even FORGETS them. ALL of them! But even still, I continued to carry this shame around every day until recently.
I was in a church bible class, and I was challenged to memorize a passage from the book of Romans. After reading it over, I decided to memorize the verses before and after the passage because those words were powerful to my heart.
Before I explain further, let’s look at Romans 10:8-13 (KNJV). It starts by asking the question, “But what does it say” Good question. What do the scriptures say? Let’s keep going. “The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart” Notice it said the word is NEAR you. Not far away, but near you. It’s not in some faraway place somewhere but right where you are. Also, what word is it that’s near you? Well, let’s look… “That is the word of Faith which we preach, that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe on your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” Wow! So, the scripture says that the word of FAITH is near you, not the word of fear, nor is it the word of worry, nor is it the word of shame, BUT the word of FAITH that SAVES you. That is what is NEAR TO YOU!
It gets even better, so let’s read on. “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture says whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord overall is rich to all who call upon Him. For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” You are right with God for believing in Jesus, and you are saved because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, confessing your sins and saying out loud that Jesus is Lord. Did you catch the next part? Because you believe in Jesus, you are not put to shame. There is no difference between God’s chosen people and the people who hung him on the cross. There is no difference between someone that grew up in church and got saved at an early age and someone who was a drug dealer and didn’t get saved until they were in their thirties.
Memorizing that scripture enabled me to quote it every time the devil tried to put shame on me for something I’ve done that is covered by the blood of Jesus and forgiven or even shame from something that wasn’t my fault to begin with. Now I believe that I am NOT to hold on to shame because I am covered by Jesus’ death and resurrection on the cross! It was through memorizing this scripture that I gained the power to believe that I didn't need to hold on to my guilt and shame. That I need not give satan the power to tell me things about myself that are not true.
But my healing from shame didn’t begin there. No, it began about 4 months ago while I was away on a ladies’ retreat. At this ladies’ retreat, there was a massage therapist. She had great rates, and my friends encouraged me to try her out. However, I just couldn’t do it. Touch was still a very triggering thing for me, especially something like that! But as the Lord would have it, I ran into her at the buffet line, and we got to talking. The conversation ended with, “it sounds like someone used touch to hurt you instead of love you. Touching, when done right, is loving and healing. Sounds like you need some healing touch.” Well, reluctantly, I went to her signup sheet and signed up for her to give me a message. To my surprise, it was the best experience ever. I didn’t freak out, wasn’t triggered, and had no panic attacks. I had been set free!
At that same retreat, I got a butterfly imprint that said, “Set free,” with the reference to Galatians 5:1, which says we are to hold tight to freedom because Christ made us FREE. Therefore, we are not to be tangled up in bondage anymore! We are set free to no longer be held in captivity of our sin or shame that was put on us from abuse. The massage therapist was right, there’s healing power in touch.
Jesus showed us just how powerful and healing faith, hope, and one-touch could be in our lives with the miracles He performed. My favorite example of this is found in Mark 5:25-34 and Luke 8:43-48 where we learn about the woman with the issue of blood. According to Mark 5:25-26 and Luke 8:43, a woman who had an issue with blood for 12 years had suffered isolation and loss of all her money to physicians, and none of her physicians could find the cure for her. In fact, she only got worse. Before we dig more into what the scripture says, it’s important to understand the “purity laws” of that time. According to the Purity Laws, women during the time of bleeding were considered unclean and couldn’t touch or be touched by anyone; In fact, they had to stay in quarantine, completely isolated from everyone.
So, this woman would have been suffering greatly. With those things in mind, let’s go on. Mark 5:27-32 and Luke 8: 44-46 tell us that she heard of Jesus and thought that he could heal her even if all she could do was touch the hem of his garment. Remember, it would have been unlawful for her to be in the crowd or to touch anyone, much less someone who was considered a religious leader like Jesus. But she took a step of faith and touched the hem of his clothing, thinking no one would notice, but of course, Jesus noticed. He even asked the question, “who touched me?”
Before we go further, isn’t it interesting that He asked that question? He had to have known who touched Him because He was fully man and fully God. If He knew, why did He ask? Well, let’s keep reading.
According to Luke 8: 47-48, she was trembling and only when she saw that she could no longer be hidden she went to Jesus, fell to His feet and declared the truth in front of all the people. Then Jesus says to her, “Daughter..." WOW, He called her DAUGHTER, not unclean, not unlawful, but DAUGHTER. Then He says, “be of good cheer, your faith has made you well GO IN PEACE.” Not go in fear, disgust, or shame but peace. So, in the midst of all her shame, in front of all those people, He called her daughter and tells her to go in peace.
I believe He asked the question, “Who touched me?” so she couldn’t just hide and sneak off, still hanging on to her shame. He didn’t want to just heal her of her health issue but heal her of her shame as well. He wanted to make her whole. He wanted her and those around to know that she was HIS daughter and that She belonged to Him.
Brothers and sisters in Christ. He wants to heal your shame. He healed mine and made me a brand-new creation. He can do the same for you, He can break through the chaos and madness of your P.T.S.D., trauma, poor choices, or any other mental health issue. The best part is you don’t have to do anything except ask Him. Close your eyes reach out, and touch Him, and He will make you whole.
Hello, I am a grateful follower of Jesus Christ, and my name is Tabytha (with a Y). I live in south central PA along with my husband and eight children. I enjoy sewing clothes for my children, volunteering at my home church with my husband, and digging into the Word. Being a mother with eight children has not been easy, but I'm grateful that my Father has been giving me the strength to keep on being the mother that He has called me to be. Even though my neurologist said I would never be able to memorize things, God has been healing that part of my brain, and I'm memorizing Bible verses and reciting them to my pastor. God gets all the Glory and is still in the healing business!
