Freedom From Shame 03 | You Don’t Have To Hide From God
Shame is an emotion and experience that every person in human history has felt—with the exception of Jesus. It is a human experience that can wreak havoc on our soul and mental health. Shame can haunt us, constantly pursuing us with lies about ourselves and our worth. It can also paralyze us, leaving us feeling stuck in our flaws and failures.
Shame is experienced for the first time in human history in Genesis 3:
“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” (Genesis 3:7, NIV)
Adam and Eve, after the fall, felt the devastating effects of living contrary to God's design. They had chosen not to trust God's guidance and design. As a result, they experienced spiritual, relational, psychological, and emotional consequences. They attempted to hide from God, and they attempted to hide from each other.
This is a picture of shame. Shame is an exposure of our nakedness—we have been revealed as imperfect and flawed.
How do we find freedom from shame?
I would like to share with you a few lessons from Adam and Eve’s response to shame that can lead us to a place of freedom—this is the third of five insights on shame that can lead you to freedom from shame.
You Don’t Have To Hide From God
When Adam and Eve first experienced shame, they made a common human response to shame, described in Genesis 3:
“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8, NIV)
Adam and Eve hid from God.
Shame almost always leads to hiding.
We don’t want God to see our flaws and failures. We don’t want God to see our sin—all the choices we make that are contrary to His design for our lives. So, we hide from God—or at least think that we are hiding from God.
Our human response to shame is to run as far away from God as possible. We try to flee from His presence, just as Adam and Eve did.
The problem with this response is that:
God sees everything.
God knows everything.
God is always present.
We cannot hide from God.
Another problem with hiding from God is that hiding our shame will only increase our shame. Shame does not go away with our human attempts to hide. Shame only compounds in hiding.
What is hidden cannot be healed.
What is hidden cannot be forgiven.
Running from God will never leave us feeling free. Running from God is essentially running from the one person who can free us from shame. Running cannot alleviate the gnawing reality of shame in our soul.
Hiding will never help you; it will only hurt you.
Instead of running away from God, run to God.
He is merciful and gracious.
He is compassionate and kind.
He is healing and forgiving.
Don’t listen to your natural human inclination when you feel shame. Listen to the wise words of Scripture:
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6-7, NIV)
There Are Better Days Ahead.
Much Love + Peace,
Wesley, Founder