Just a year or so ago, if I had an embarrassing moment happen to me it would wreck my emotions. I would have thought about all the things that people were thinking about me. How stupid! How clumsy! How ridiculous!
Well by the grace of God that didn’t happen after an embarrassing moment this week! Although this moment may sound trivial, it used to be a huge deal to me to have something like this happen. My self-worth was at a zero and my concern with how others perceived me was at 100%.
Natural Response to an Embarrassing Moment
According to Dictionary.com, embarrassment is “a feeling of self-consciousness, shame or awkwardness.”
Even if the embarrassing moment wasn’t a result of something I did, my first response to embarrassment is usually to go run and hide under the covers. The weight of the world used to feel so heavy when these things would happen. I would repeat the embarrassing occurrence over and over again until I exhausted myself.
Self-deprecation rears its ugly head. I tell myself the rudest things in hope that it will justify all the reasons why it did happen. Embarrassment reminds you of your wrongs and harbors judgment. It is an emotional breakdown because your sense of control begins to fail.
The Embarrassing Moment
I thought that I had a network meeting/training on Thursday. I made sure to double check the email so that I knew it was going to happen.
Anyways, I showed up about 10 minutes before my co-worker and went into the meeting room as I have a dozen times in the past. There were a few people in there so I sat down then proceeded to answer emails on my phone until I thought the meeting was supposed to start.
After about 5-7 minutes of sitting there, I realized something didn’t seem right. I had even said “Hi” to the training leader who didn’t think anything of me being there at first. But I soon asked him if there was the training today. He looked at me weird and told me that was last week.
Everything started to come into perspective. The projection on the wall was for different training, only two people were in the room and my co-worker had rushed out of a meeting to get there for this training. Not only was I embarrassed that I had walked into the room and sat down like it was nothing, but I also felt extremely bad that I had convinced my co-worker to come even though she was going to be running straight from another meeting.
No Shame or Embarrassment in Christ
God has made me realize that moments like this happen and they should not tear down my identity in Him. Our identity should never waver when it has a solid foundation in Him.
While I felt dumb at the moment, I decided to laugh it off. So what if the others who were there think differently of me, my identity doesn’t rely on what others think. And guess what? The moment of embarrassment won’t stick in people’s’ minds forever anyways. Therefore, we don’t need to hold the opinion of others so highly, we need Jesus’ opinion.
Jesus was humiliated on the cross. He was publicly displayed, mocked, spit on, and crucified. God offered Him up for us all. Jesus understands what we are going through when we feel embarrassed and He stands with us and accepts us. And after His death, He sent the Holy Spirit to whisper the reassuring words we need to hear when embarrassment comes.
“The Lord is the One who will go before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8.
God is there when we embarrass ourselves or make mistakes. He is not laughing at or judging us, rather He is rushing to our side to comfort us. God invites us to come to Him and seek cover in His arms. He will be your strength.
Next time you have an embarrassing moment, remember there is grace and protection in Christ.