Who told you you were naked?! How I'm overcoming shame.

I am taking this class, called Freedom, with a group in my church; it's all about how to live a free and whole live in Christ . In Freedom, we discussed why people have struggles and troubles in life. Well, it all began with the fall of man. Thanks Adam and Eve. Smh!

Adam and Eve were told not to eat from a certain tree in Eden. God told them, "You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die," (Genesis 2:16-17). But the thing about my God is that He's a gentleman; he gives us free will. So in Adam and Eve's free will they made a decision that caused for them to know good and evil. And with the new knowledge they gained, they knew they were naked.

I believe when God told Adam and Eve that if they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil "they would die," was not a literal instantaneous death --you take a bite from the tree and you fall dead on your face right then and there--since Adam and Eve lived from a couple hundred years after this. But the meaning of death was a death to vision, purpose, peace and harmony, prosperity, lack of pain, lack of toil and so on, and then eventually a literal death. You die spiritually first and then you die physically. Eeks it sounds so morbid. 😝

And when Adam and Eve realized they were naked, yes they were literally naked, but they were also naked in a figurative sense. Adam and Eve were made perfect in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). But somehow when they were deceived by the serpent (aka satan) into eating from the tree, they were deceived into believing they were flawed. Since satan is the father of lies (John 8:43-45), he is able to convince us into believing the lies he makes up about us. The nakedness Adam and Eve felt was shame, guilt, rejection, feeling inferior, people pleasing/needing approval, hopeless, feeling lost and confused. The nakedness that Adam and Eve felt, we also feel in this present day and age without Jesus in our lives. We often times feel like we are too far behind in life compared to our peers, rejected and unlovable, or broken beyond repair. And in our nakedness we often time hide from God. These are all lies of the enemies. And God actually confronts and comforts us in these lies. "So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him 'Where are you.' And he [Adam] said 'I heard You...and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid,'" (Genesis 3:9-10).

Yes, Adam and Eve did indeed mess up, but God was the one who went searching for them. God did not throw them away or forget about them, but he actually went out searching for them, simply to love on them. God did not highlight their mishaps and faults, but He covered them. "The Lord God made clothing out of skins for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them" (Genesis 3:21).

God does not shame you when you mess up. Rather, He covers you up, patches you up, picks you up and encourages you to keep moving forward. Who told you you are defined by the mistakes you made? Who told you were naked? You are not. You are no the mistakes you made whether it was 10 years ago or 10 seconds ago. You are not the abuse you experienced. You are not the prison sentence you served. You are not the bankruptcy you filed. You are not the divorce you experienced. You are not a gang-banger. You are not a failure. You are not rejected. You are not unlovable. You are not unforgivable. You are a WHOLE child of God (John 3:1-3). He sees you as blameless (Psalm 119:1). He calls you righteous (Romans 5:1) and redeemed (Ephesians 1:7). He calls you an heir to the throne (Romans 8:17). He calls you mighty (Judges 6:12). He calls you victorious (Deuteronomy 20:4). He calls you healed by the stripe of Jesus (Isaiah 53:5). You are blessed with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3). You are His beloved (Romans 8:38-39).

Come out of hiding. You are safe in Jesus.

Be Blessed and enjoy meditating on the scriptures below.

XOXO,

Jenn

Scriptural References:

Genesis 2:16-17 You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die

Genesis 1:27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them

John 8:43-45 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me

Genesis: 3:8-10 Then the man and his wide heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid themselves from the Lord God among the tree of the garden. So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" And he said, "I heard You in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid."

Genesis: 3:21 The Lord God made clothing out of skins for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them

John 3: 1-3 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears[a] we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Psalm 119:1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

Romans 8:17 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him

Judges 6:12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor

Deuteronomy 20:4 for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory

Isaiah 53:5 he was crushed for our iniquities;upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places

Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord

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Fun Fact About Jenn Jenn

I swear, I am so awkward at times. I'm literally the friend that makes the corniest, silliest jokes.

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Jenn Jenn Vibes

Come out of hiding/How He loves/Good Good Father- Tye Tribbet

This song really speaks to the fact that God does indeed love us. Listen to the words