Have you ever heard someone say to you or to someone else, “Shame on you”? It used to be a phrase more commonly heard from parents when I was growing up, and it certainly had the power to make a child feel awful. I know an older woman who has said that though she couldn’t remember her shameful deed, her first memory was hearing her mother say, “Shame on you.”


Praise the Lord – for that woman and for all of us – that we can read the precious, restorative words of Psalm 31: “Let me never be put to shame” (v. 1). When we pray these words along with David who first wrote them, shame is lifted from us. Even David, who had plenty to be ashamed of, knew this to be true. God never shames us.


David could have hidden away in a cave of guilt and unworthiness. Instead, he looked to God as his Rock of refuge, the lifter of his head, knowing his times were in God’s hands. God continues to lift our heads as we trust Him with all of the thoughts and actions of our lives. Through Jesus, we are offered grace, love and blessing.