The Resurrection Redeems Your Past and Shame

May 24, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Hiding Among the Trees

When shame grips us, we instinctively cover ourselves and retreat like Adam and Eve stitching fig leaves in Eden’s shadows. But God still walks through the garden, still calls out to those hiding in the brush. Our attempts to self-protect only isolate us from the One who sees through every disguise. True safety begins when we answer His persistent question: “Where are you?” [48:07]

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? (Genesis 3:8-9, KJV)

Reflection: What “fig leaves” have you stitched together to hide parts of your story? What practical step could you take this week to move from isolation toward answering God’s call?

Day 2: Darkness as Bright as Day

We build elaborate hiding places, convinced darkness will conceal our wounds. But Psalm 139 dismantles every shadowy refuge—even night shines like daylight to God. His vision pierces every locked door, not to expose but to embrace. The One who formed us in secret knows every secret, yet still reaches through the veil. [52:27]

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. (Psalm 139:7,11-12, KJV)

Reflection: Where have you assumed God’s gaze would condemn you, rather than liberate you? How might His perfect sight become comfort instead of threat?

Day 3: Scars That Speak Victory

The resurrected Christ carried nail marks as eternal trophies, not hidden flaws. What Satan meant as shame’s signature became redemption’s autograph. Our risen Lord transforms wounds into witness stands, proving death’s worst cannot stop heaven’s healing. Your past’s ugliest chapters await their Easter morning. [01:05:11]

And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. (John 20:20,27, KJV)

Reflection: What scar from your past still feels like defeat? How might Jesus repurpose it as evidence of His victory over your story?

Day 4: From Wretch to Witness

John Newton’s slave ships became pulpits, his shame a hymnbook. Grace doesn’t whitewash history—it weaponizes it. The very memories that once paralyzed him fueled a revolution. God needs no cover-up artists, only surrendered storytellers who’ll let redemption rewrite their endings. [01:11:01]

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21, KJV)

Reflection: What chapter of your story feels too dark for God’s use? How might that very history uniquely equip you to minister to others?

Day 5: Thou God Seest Me

Hagar—discarded, pregnant, and alone—met El Roi in the desert: the God who sees. Not a distant deity cataloging failures, but a present Savior naming the unnamed. When everyone else moves on, He kneels at your wilderness spring. Your most invisible pain is His most intimate concern. [01:15:20]

And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? (Genesis 16:13, KJV)

Reflection: Where have you felt most invisible lately? How might embracing God’s gaze as “El Roi” shift your posture from hiding to being held?

Sermon Summary

Memorial Day’s call to remember sets the table for biblical remembering. The Psalms call memory a spiritual discipline that steadies the soul, yet the past for many is not peaceful. The ache of regret, the scars of what was done, and the weight of what was suffered push the heart toward hiding. Genesis 3 names that reflex. The first fruit of sin is not argument but concealment. Fig leaves go up, trees become cover, and God’s first recorded question keeps echoing through human history: Where are you? His question does not gather intel; it invites hearts out of the brush.

The contrast between guilt and shame then does crucial work. Guilt, as godly grief, functions like an alarm that opens a door to repentance and mercy. Shame, however, declares the person the problem and turns the heart inward, managing appearances and building walls. Proverbs names the trap with clarity: concealment blocks mercy. Shame promises protection and delivers captivity.

Psalm 139 dismantles the myth of safe darkness. The text stress tests every escape route and finds God already present. To him the night shines like day. Human love often recoils or cools in the face of exposure, but Romans 5:8 announces a different calculus. While sinners were still sinners, Christ loved and stepped toward them. The incarnation shows a holiness that does not stay clean by staying away. Jesus touches lepers, eats with traitors, welcomes the ruined, and what he touches becomes clean.

The cross and the empty tomb must be held together. Justice refuses to wave sin away; love refuses to abandon sinners. At the cross, the debt is paid in full. At the tomb, the Father declares the payment accepted. Then an unexpected detail reframes everything about the past. The scars remain. The risen Christ bears Friday’s wounds on Sunday, not as marks of defeat but as banners of victory. The wounds are not erased; they are reinterpreted.

That is the pattern of redemption. God does not delete a past; he redeems it into testimony. John Newton’s story proves the point. The captain of slave ships becomes the herald of Amazing Grace and a witness whose memory helps dismantle a wicked trade. Hagar then names the heart of it in the wilderness. El Roi, the God who sees, finds the forgotten, speaks promise, and turns hiding into homecoming. The invitation is simple. Stop running. Let yourself be found by the One whose seeing restores.

Key Takeaways

1. Shame trades presence for protection Shame sells the lie that concealment keeps a person safe. Genesis shows that hiding only exchanges the presence of God for an illusion. Proverbs calls concealment a prosperity killer because it blocks mercy. Exposure to God is not destruction but the doorway to healing. [51:57]
2. God’s sight makes darkness irrelevant Psalm 139 does not stage a light versus dark showdown. It says darkness and light are alike to God, which means the hiding place never worked. If he has already seen everything and stayed, secrecy only isolates, it never shields. Known and loved can finally coexist. [57:51]
3. The cross pays, the tomb re-meanings Justice gathers the debt and lays it on Christ, and the resurrection announces the payment cleared. Then the risen scars preach a new sermon about old wounds. What once proved defeat now proves victory, turning the past from liability into witness. [65:11]
4. Grace turns wounds into weapons Redemption does not erase history; it redeploys it. John Newton’s memory, once a badge of shame, became authority that served abolition. What the enemy meant to silence became the voice that could not be ignored. In God’s hands, the chapter most feared becomes credentials. [71:01]
5. El Roi finds the hidden and restores Hagar meets the God who sees in a wilderness no one else would enter. His question and promise do not demand she resolve her pain before coming; they name and lift her where she is. The call is to stop running and let holy seeing do its healing work. [74:49]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[43:15] - Memorial Day and the call to remember
[44:25] - When looking back hurts
[45:44] - Aiming the resurrection backward
[46:49] - Genesis 3 and the first hiding
[49:10] - Guilt as door, shame as prison
[50:53] - Concealment blocks mercy
[52:27] - Psalm 139 and the inescapable Presence
[55:59] - Love in the middle of the mess
[60:14] - Justice and mercy meet at the cross
[63:48] - Scars that stayed after Easter
[65:48] - From shame to testimony
[67:48] - John Newton’s redeemed history
[74:49] - Hagar and the God who sees
[76:19] - Invitation to be found

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Genesis 3:7-9 (ESV)
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

Psalm 139:7-12 (ESV)
Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

John 20:27 (ESV)
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

Observation Questions

What immediate actions did Adam and Eve take after realizing their nakedness, and how did God respond?
According to Psalm 139:7-12, what does the psalmist conclude about God’s presence in darkness and light?
What physical detail does Jesus specifically show Thomas after the resurrection, and why is this significant? [01:04:33]

Interpretation Questions

Why does God ask Adam, “Where are you?” if He already knows their location? What does this reveal about His character?
How does shame differ from guilt in its effects on a person’s relationship with God and others? [49:53]
Jesus’ scars remained after His resurrection. What does this suggest about how God views our past wounds and failures? [01:05:11]

Application Questions

Where in your life are you still hiding from God’s presence, like Adam and Eve? What practical step could you take this week to “come out of the trees” and answer His call, “Where are you?”
Shame often tells us, “You are the problem.” How might believing the truth of Romans 5:8 (“while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”) shift how you view your worth?
Is there a past failure or wound you’ve tried to erase or hide? How could surrendering it to God, like John Newton’s past, allow Him to reinterpret it as part of your testimony? [01:11:01]
Hagar named God “El Roi” (the God who sees). When have you felt unseen in your pain or shame? How can you actively trust God’s sight and care in that area today? [01:14:49]
The sermon says, “Your hiding place was never protecting you—it was isolating you.” What relationships or spiritual habits could help you break patterns of isolation and secrecy?

Sermon Clips

34s

#GodSeesYou

“Not the God who judges, not the God who catalogs your failures and keeps a record of your wrongs, the God who sees, the God who finds you in the wilderness where everyone else has moved on, the God who knows your name and speaks it in the place when you were certain you had become invisible. And this is the God we've been talking about all morning. He's not waiting for you to find your way back to him. He's already in the wilderness looking for you. He has already seen everything, every chapter you wish didn't exist, every wound that you've been hiding, every year you spent in the dark and he has not looked away.”

42s

#GuiltToGrace

“Guilt is actually a good thing and I know that may sound strange but bear with me for a little bit. I think guilt is actually part of God's design. It's our alarm system. It's our conscience doing exactly what it was created to do. Alarming us the moment that we went wrong and pointing us back to the one who can make it right. Paul will talk about this in second Corinthians seven. He calls it a godly grief and he says it produces repentance. Guilt says you did something wrong and that acknowledgment as painful and as uncomfortable as it is sometimes is the beginning of the road back. Guilt was always meant to be a door. You walk through it and on the other side you find forgiveness and reconciliation.”

45s

#ResurrectionHealsPast

“A few months ago, we celebrated Easter and Easter rightly so causes us to look forward, forward in hope for it's the day when God brings the work of the resurrection to its completion where every wrong is made right and where every wound is finally healed. That's the promise of Easter and it's truly amazing we have such a blessed future to look forward to. But this morning I wanna do something a little bit different. I wanna take the resurrection and aim it backward. I wanna ask a question that I don't think we wrestle with often enough. What does the resurrection say about the parts of your past you wish didn't exist? What does God actually do with the weight of what we've done in the past and with the weight of what's been done to us?”

51s

#ScarsOfResurrection

“But let's pause here because this is what I expected the resurrection to look like if I am being honest. You know, I expected Jesus to rise from the dead completely transformed, no evidence of what happened in the crucifixion. I mean, glorified, radiant, every mark of the crucifixion gone. A clean slate with nothing to show for what he had been through. But that's not exactly what happened. John twenty twenty says, and when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side, then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. After the resurrection, Mary had seen the empty tomb. Peter and John have run to it and they found only grave clothes. And then Jesus appears first to Mary in the garden then to the disciples gathered behind locked doors out of fear. And look what he does when he enters the room, he showed them his hands and his side and the scars are still there.”

50s

#WoundsToGlory

“The wounds are not gone, they are displayed. And that's not an accident, that's not an oversight in the resurrection body. The scars remain because the scars are now saying something completely different than they used to say. On Friday evening, those wounds were the marks of defeat, of suffering, of what sin and death do to the innocent. And on Sunday, those same wounds in the same body and the same risen flesh are the proof of victory. They are the evidence that Christ went all the way into death and came back out the other side. They are not marks of shame. They are marks of glory. The wounds did not disappear. They were given new meaning. The risen Christ is not pretending Friday didn't happen. He is standing in the full weight of it and declaring that it no longer has a power it used to have.”

51s

#ShameToTestimony

“Shame says your past must stay hidden to stay safe. Jesus says your past can be carried openly because in his hands what it means has permanently changed. And here's what we see God do over and over again. This is the template. He does not delete your past. He does not pretend it didn't happen. He does not give you a clean slate with no memory of where you came from. He redeems your past. The very thing that was meant to mark you, to define you, to disqualify you, to keep you in hiding forever, and the hands of a risen savior becomes something else entirely. What the enemy designed as your shame becomes your testimony. What was meant to silence you becomes your voice and the wound becomes proof that God brought you to the other side and that the God we serve brings beauty out of the ashes and is not limited by our sin and mistakes.”

40s

#NoPlaceToHide

“We don't serve a God who is managing his exposure to you. We serve a God who has already seen everything and chose to love you anyway. Which brings us back to Psalm one thirty nine. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee but the night shineth as a day. The darkness and the light are both alike to thee. The psalmist here describes the foundation of all hiding. Something we've all known since we were little kids playing hide and go seek. To essentially go into the room and turn the lights off and pray that nobody sees anything. And this is the same logic of every person who has ever thought, if I just keep it buried long enough, if I keep it hidden long enough,”

56s

#JesusReachesIn

“He touched lepers and he remained undefiled. He ate with tax collectors and prostitutes and was criticized for it. He let a sinful woman weep on his feet in public. And the Pharisees noticed this and it offended them deeply. In Luke 15 it says that this man receives sinners and eats with them and they meant it as an accusation but I think they were accidentally making astute theological observation. And here is that observation, when humans encounter sin we must keep our distance to stay clean. We all understand that sin can have a gravitational pull toward it and one bad apple can spoil the entire lot. But Jesus in his divinity stands so far above the gravitational pull of sin that he can reach into the deepest darkness without being drawn in. He doesn't stay clean by keeping his distance. He reaches in and the thing that he touches becomes clean.”

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The Resurrection Redeems Your Past and Shame

Devotional

Day 1: Hiding Among the Trees

Day 2: Darkness as Bright as Day

Day 3: Scars That Speak Victory

Day 4: From Wretch to Witness

Day 5: Thou God Seest Me

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

The Resurrection Redeems Your Past and Shame

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