I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles. For the angle of the Lord is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him. – Psalm 34:4-7 (NLT)
Shame is one of the uglier aspects of infertility. It eats away at our self-esteem, our sense of self-worth, and it can lead to bitterness or depression if left unchecked.
I often think about what it was like to be an infertile woman 100 years ago, or centuries ago. Or to be infertile in certain cultures today where the woman is always blamed. The shame that is and was cast on these women must have been a tremendous burden for them to bear. I’m grateful that in our modern, Western culture we don’t have to deal with such wide-spread, blatant shame-casting.
But shame still creeps in. It’s more subtle now, but it finds its way into our hearts and minds.
It creeps in while we watch our husband play with friends’ or relatives’ children and we wonder if he wishes he’d married someone fertile.
It creeps in when you realize your parents are the only couple in their group of friends without grandchildren and you wonder if you’ll ever be able to give them that gift.
It creeps in when you think back to your past and some of the stupid things you did and you wonder if you somehow brought infertility on yourself.
This is why it’s so important to let verses like Psalm 34:5 sink deep into our consciousness. “Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.”
It we want to get out from under the weight of shame, we must look to God. When we look to God, His radiance reflects back on us. In his commentary, Matthew Henry said: “When we look to the world, we are darkened… but, when we look to God, from him we have the light both of direction and joy, and our way is made both plain and pleasant.”
God does more than just remove our shame; He causes us to be radiant with joy. Other translations describe it as being lightened (KJV), shining (CEB), and glad (GNT).
Praise God that He takes away our shame and replaces it with such beautiful things!
Photo courtesy of Boss Fight
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