Rags of Shame or Garments of Salvation

This past weekend I had the opportunity to serve at our Freedom Conference.  This is probably the 5th conference that I have either attended or served.  I share this because it was at this conference that the Lord began to speak to my heart and open my eyes to the reality of Shame.

As the speaker shared on the subject of shame, she said, “the first emotion Adam and Eve felt when they sinned was shame.”  That really spoke to me!  They saw they were naked…so they hid from God.  The Lord also reminded me that they tried to cover their shame with fig leaves.

Now God knew they had disobeyed Him and sinned, and yet we see that He came looking for them.  He pursued them, calling them by name to come out of hiding and into the light in order to deal with their sin and shame.

I love that God didn’t condemn them.  He lovingly asked them why they were hiding so they could confess their sin.  We also see how God graciously and lovingly took an animal and made clothes to cover their nakedness and shame.  A sacrifice had to be made for their sin and shame.

The Good News is, we no longer have to walk in shame!  Jesus, the precious Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice, bore our sin and shame.  God sent His own Son to bear our sin and shame on the cross so we would never have to bear it again.

God reminded me how Jesus hung naked on the cross, lifted high for all to see.  Fully exposed…our sin and shame dealt with once and for all.

God never intended for us to live in shame.  It’s the devil who wants to keep us in bondage to shame.  Jesus paid it all in full!

God wants to clothe you with the garments of salvation and cover you with Jesus’ robe of righteousness.  An uneven exchange…we give Him our sin and shame and He gives us salvation and righteousness (right standing with God).

We can not undo or change our past, but we can change our future by confessing our sins and bringing to Jesus the areas we feel shame.  Things we have never shared with anyone else, we can bring to Jesus.  Beloved, He already knows what it is, He’s just waiting for you to surrender it to Him and let Him carry it for you.

God is pursuing you.  He is calling you by name and asking you to come out of hiding into His glorious light, where you can deal with it together.  He loves you so much!

This has been so heavy on my heart.  I thank God for giving me the right words and the courage to share this with you.

In Freedom we say “freed people free people”.  God wants to set you free today.  Will you respond to His call?