The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its
fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was
with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes
were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover
themselves. When the cool
evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God
walking about in the garden. So they hid
from the Lord God
among the trees. Then the Lord God
called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you walking in the
garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I
was naked.” Genesis 3:6-10
The truth poured out of Adam when God
asked Adam about Adam; he answered, I was afraid. The person who claims he or she has no fear is
either a fool or a liar.
Fear is not a response to a dangerous possibility
of harm; fear is a right response of loss.
Adam and Eve understood that because, in the moment of the first sin
recorded in history, their eyes of personal responsibility to their Creator
were opened. Their nakedness
had nothing to do with bodily shame; they were exposed from the inside-out. They recognized their character (in all its
flawed darkness) was exposed. They had
lost the one thing they treasured above all – relationship with the divine.
Like our first parents, we too fear that
loss. Paradoxically, it is the one thing
God also doesn’t want for us, so much so, that He was willing to die in our
place to take away our guilt, our culpability, and along with all that, take
away our shame.
Equally as contradictory is how we
despise entering the shame to do battle with it and defeat it. We are fearfully and wonderfully made by God,[1] but the shame of our sin is more of a problem than fear. We are too ashamed of our sin to stand in the
presence of holy God, so we wallow in it instead of bowing before the throne of
Heaven. We, the human family, are a
strange lot, indeed.
For You Today
You are still breathing, so this game of
your life is not over yet. There is a
remedy for your fear and hiding from God.
Allow yourself the next 60 seconds to hear how God has spoken to you long
before you were born, in that unmistakably loving tone that wants to defeat the
shame of your sin forever:
1.
God knows you’re worth His presence
“Be strong and courageous, for….I will be with you.” Deuteronomy 31:23
2.
God will defeat your enemies by strengthening
you
“Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged,” Joshua told his men. “Be strong and courageous, for the Lord is going to do this to all of your enemies.” Joshua 10:25
3.
God promises to be with you through the worst of
your life
Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Psalm 91:5
4.
God is bigger than any problem you seem to have
The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? Psalm 118:6
5.
God is there, even when you don’t know He’s
there
You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly. Proverbs 3:24
6.
God has already planned your victory in life
The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.” Isaiah 12:2
And so, the sum of all your fears doesn’t
begin to equal God’s love for you. Isn’t
it time to stop hiding in the garden with fear, and begin to walk with Him with
all the victory with which He wants to cover you?
Title image: Pixabay.com W Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The
New Living Translation©
For other posts on Genesis 3 and dealing with fear see: The Arms of God and Choosing
[1] Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. Psalm 139:14
No comments:
Post a Comment