From Shame to Story: Letting God Use Your Past

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20

Shame is a cruel liar. It doesn’t just whisper—it lingers. It settles deep into your bones and convinces you that your past is your permanent label. It tells you that your mistakes have defined you, that the person you were is all you’ll ever be. And it thrives in secrecy, growing stronger the longer we hide.

For years, I carried shame like a second skin. It followed me into every room, every conversation, every quiet moment. I believed that if anyone really knew my story—the brokenness, the addiction, the prison sentence—they would walk away. I believed God might forgive me, but surely, He wouldn’t want to use me.

But here’s the thing about God: He doesn’t see what the world sees. He looks at the same broken pieces that we try so hard to hide and says, “Watch what I can do with that.” Shame loses its power the moment we stop hiding and start handing our story back to Him.

REDEMPTION IS GOD’S SPECIALTY

Genesis 50:20 is one of the most beautiful pictures of redemption in all of Scripture. Joseph had every reason to be bitter. His brothers sold him into slavery. He was betrayed, forgotten, and imprisoned for years for something he didn’t do. But when he finally stood before them, in a position of power, he didn’t seek revenge. Instead, he said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.”

That’s the heartbeat of redemption. God doesn’t erase our stories; He repurposes them.

When I look back at my own journey—my incarceration, my addiction, the nights I thought I’d never find my way back—I don’t just see pain anymore. I see purpose. God took the very things I was most ashamed of and turned them into bridges to reach others who are still in that darkness.

What once made me hide has become what He uses to bring hope. That’s what redemption does—it takes what was meant to destroy you and uses it to save others.

YOUR STORY CAN SET SOMEONE ELSE FREE

The enemy works hard to keep you silent. He knows that when your story is brought into the light, it loses its hold on you—and it loses its power over others too. That’s why shame always whispers, “Don’t tell anyone. Keep this quiet.” But that whisper is a lie meant to keep you bound.

When you share your story, you open the door for someone else to believe that freedom is possible. Your honesty might be the very thing that helps someone else find their way home.

You don’t have to have a spotless record or a perfect past to be used by God. The Bible is full of people with messy stories—Moses was a murderer, David was an adulterer, Paul was a persecutor, and yet God used every one of them to change the world. He doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called.

The only requirement is willingness.

Maybe you’re still wrestling with whether your story is worth sharing. Hear this: God doesn’t waste anything. The pain you endured, the mistakes you regret, the scars you carry—they’re not proof of your failure. They’re evidence of His faithfulness.

THE POWER OF GRACE ON DISPLAY

When you begin to tell your story, you’re not spotlighting your strength—you’re magnifying God’s grace. Every time you speak about where He found you and how far He’s brought you, you declare His goodness. You remind a watching world that there is no pit too deep, no past too messy, and no failure too final for His mercy.

Your scars become your testimony. They’re not meant to be hidden—they’re meant to be holy reminders of what grace can do.

If you’re still carrying the weight of shame, let me remind you: Jesus already carried it for you. He nailed it to the cross, and He left it there. The same hands that bore the nails are the hands that now lift your chin and call you redeemed.

You are not disqualified by your past—you are defined by His redemption. You are living proof that nothing is wasted in the hands of God.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. What part of your past still feels covered in shame?

2. How might God want to use that part of your story to bring hope to someone else?

3. What step can you take to move from hiding to healing?

Father God, thank You for being the God who redeems. Thank You that nothing in my past is beyond the reach of Your grace. Take the parts of my story that still feel heavy with shame and turn them into testimonies of Your goodness. Give me the courage to speak what You’ve done in my life so that others can find freedom too. Remind me that my scars are not signs of defeat, but proof of Your healing power. Use my story, Lord, for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.