Reflections4Life™ February 23, 2020
“Naked”
“And there is no creature hidden from His sight,
but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give
account.” Hebrews 4:13
Just the thought of being
naked before anyone used to terrify me. And, I definitely did not want anyone to
see all my “bits & pieces”! I'm
laughing at myself right now, so you can also! It's just something about
exposing yourself that way. To have people seeing every part of you and making
judgments. So not into that! Yet, the Father wants us to come before Him
naked—baring our hearts and souls. Laying EVERYTHING at His feet—without
shame—so that He may cover us, and we can receive the healing we need and
deserve.
I decree that this week's Reflections
will be a continued source of encouragement and inspiration for your heart,
mind, and soul. May you have the courage to come before the Lord naked; baring
your heart and soul. God knows it all, but He desires for us to come willingly.
To, lay our all—no matter how excruciating painful or embarrassing—lay it at
His feet and trust Him to take care of you.
Every day someone is making a
judgment as we are exposing ourselves to the world, whether it is intentional
or not. Some of us are overexposed—people know excessively much about us.
Whereas, the people that should know us well, know hardly anything at all.
Each time we open our mouths;
every action we take—we are exposing something about who we are, or who we
think we should be. Some expose themselves to gain attention. For whatever
reason, there is a void in their lives. Any kind of attention they can garner,
whether it is positive or negative is filling a void, but they still feel empty
inside and seek ways to fill it.
I give credit to my husband
for opening this line of dialogue and inspiring today's Reflection about being
“naked”. Our conversation, in short, was about being totally honest with one
another. Sharing our heart and soul; baring our truths—good, bad, ugly, or
indifferent—to one another without the fear of judgment or offense being taken.
But, with the intent to bring healing, revelation, and an even stronger bond.
He brought up Adam and Eve,
and how in Genesis they were naked before one another, and before God without
any thought or shame to their nakedness. In fact, they did not even know they
were naked. They just were. They were being who God ordained them to be,
and they were free. Then sin happened. The first thing they did was to cover
themselves. As if, clothes could cover the darkness of our hearts or the shame
of our actions. Sin made them feel exposed, as it does to every one of us;
causing us to want to hide, to cover up.
The Father desires for us to
come before Him naked. He wants us to come before Him fully exposing what is in
our hearts, confessing to Him every thought, fear, plan, question, concern. No
matter what it is God wants to hear it. He wants us to be free. Free to live
the life that He has ordained for us, without the fear of thinking that God
will not accept us or love us.
Yes. God already knows it all.
The confession, the baring of our heart and soul is for us. It is for us to be
free again, and to strip the enemy of any power he thinks he has over us.
Coming naked before the Lord and confessing—baring every part of our heart and
soul is not punishment, judgment, or condemnation. It is to free us, and
release any hold the enemy may have over us through guilt and shame, and to
bring healing to our wounds.
Romans 8:1-2 (MSG) With the
arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who
enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a
continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of
life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing
you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.
You have nothing to lose but
everything to gain when you bare all to the Lord. There is nothing that God has
already known or heard, and has not made provision for. We just have to
trust and believe that what God has and what God will do His best for us—always.
The shame of their sinful
actions caused Adam and Eve to cover themselves. They were not so much covering
their nakedness but trying to cover their guilt and the shame in having sinned
against God. That's where many of us live today: in a cloak of sin and shame
and also of guilt. We are afraid of someone exposing us, or seeing the truth
about who we think we are, instead of knowing and believing who God says
we are.
With God, we don't have to be
ashamed of who we are or what we did. He already knows. He has made a way for us
to be free and to change our lives in the process. We may feel remorse, make
a confession, and ask for forgiveness, but we no longer have to feel condemned
when we accept Christ into our lives.
Yes. There are always
consequences to our actions. That is the price of the actions that we take
upon this earth. Yet, even in that, we are liberated in our hearts and minds by
laying it all before the Lord, and being honest with ourselves, with God, and
with those in our lives.
Nothing hidden every stays
hidden. Lies always have a way of coming out. We can run from the truth for a
while, but sooner or later it shows up, and wants payment in full. I always say
and believe with my whole heart that I'd rather be told the truth and be hurt,
than to find out a lie and be devastated. With truth, you can rebuild and there
is healing. With a lie, there is no trust and broken promises, along with
relationships.
Whatever it is that lies
within your heart, and in the recesses of your mind, I implore you to bare it
all before the Lord. Confess it to the Father and be free from the bondage and
manipulation of the enemy. God desires us to walk, and live in truth, and to
receive all that He has ordained.
My Beloveds, I decree that the
spirit of peace and of prosperity has found permanent rest in your lives. Come
naked before the Lord. Allow Him to cover you with His love and heal your
wounds with His touch. Exposing yourself to the Lord will only bring you
strength, healing, and deliverance from the lies, condemnation, and taunts of
the enemy. When you tell the truth, there is nothing left for the enemy to use
against you. You are free. You are blessed. Now go...and be a blessing!
©2020. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved.
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