EMBARRASSMENT & GOD
by: Joe Talhelm
Have you ever done something so dumb that after you did it you looked around to see if anyone saw you do that
dumb thing? I think all of us have done that from time to time. A slip of the tongue or a slip on the pavement, a
zipper unzipped or button unbuttoned, a spill on the shirt or a rip in the skirt, a misjudgment or mistake, or calling
someone by another name, etc. We all goof from time to time, and when we do we look for a rock to crawl under
to hide in embarrassment. At age 14, I pulled one of those humiliating stunts. It was a gloomy and rainy morning
as I got on the school bus heading out to school. I sat in the front seat where you can stretch your legs out more
than in the regular seats. As I set there stretched out I happened to look down at my shoes which were quite
damp, to say the least. I could not believe what I had done! I quickly tucked my feet under the seat and looked
around to see if anyone had seen what I had seen. My cheeks must have been a bright red, but since it was
gloomy and rainy, no one noticed my face or the two different colored socks I had on! I couldn't believe it, a
brown sock on my left foot and a blue sock on my right foot. How embarrassing. I just had to get off that bus
and get home. I couldn't go to school with two different colored socks on, no way. I would be the laughing stock
of the class. I would never live it down. Everyone would see my blunder and laugh. I had to get off that bus and
get home and change. After persuading the driver to let me off, I ran home in the pouring rain, crying and
humiliated. Fortunately for me, a motorist stopped and gave me a lift to my home. I got those socks changed, as
well as my rain soaked clothes and mom took me to school.
Do you think God cares when we are embarrassed like that? Do you think God is around when we do dumb
things like that? There is one passage of Scripture that lets me know that God cares and is right there when we
get embarrassed. The Scripture says, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." In other words, when everyone is
laughing and leaves us in our shame or embarrassment, God stays right there with us. He isn't laughing either.
He is our constant Companion. He never leaves us. Never forsakes us. He is the closest friend we will ever
have. Even when the going gets tough and everyone has dumped us, there He is, standing right there with us. "A
friend that sticks closer than a brother."
So, the next time we do something really embarrassing and we want to crawl in a hole to hide, be sure to make
room for the Lord. He'll want to crawl in with us because He cares for us.