FREE FROM FEAR Part 11
In our recent Encouraging Notes, we have learned that God never intended us to live in any kind of fear, worry, or anxiety. The command of God is this, “Do not be anxious (or worry) about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 Also, we learned that fear came into the world when Adam and Eve partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (the law of self). We also know God created Adam and Eve to live naked but felt no shame. (Genesis 2:25) When Adam and Eve partook of the tree, the law of performance, the very first thing that happened, was that they realized they were naked. After they realized they were naked, they sewed fig leaves to make coverings for themselves (self-righteousness).
Up to this point, though naked and transparent, Adam and Eve had no righteousness of their own to lean upon and therefore stood before God without shame because they were pure with nothing to hide. Before Adam and Eve became intimate with the law of self, they could look into the eyes of God with absolute confidence and security. Being vulnerable before God was beautiful to them because they were thoroughly and completely adored, valued, and treasured! They saw themselves as perfect in the eyes of God, knowing that they were the love of God’s life and the joy of his morning?
Now let’s carefully consider Adam and Eve’s attitude towards God after becoming legally bound to the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 3:8-11 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. 9But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
Adam said to the Lord, “I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Though Adam and Eve had been naked all along, the intimacy they experienced with the knowledge of good and evil now declared their incompleteness and lack. Naked and afraid Adam and Eve did what most people do today, they hid. Many people are hiding from God because they are aware of their nakedness – incompleteness, and lack before him. Many people are sowing fig leaves together – trying to be righteous enough to look God in the eyes without shame. All efforts to once again be intimate with God using this method are doomed to utter failure and leave people stranded and false religion and hopelessness.
So the question becomes, how can a person stand before God – how can a person look into the eyes of God without feeling condemnation, fear and shame? I am glad you asked because tomorrow, we are going deeper into the revelation of living…
FREE FROM FEAR
PS: If you have a need or something that I can pray for, please let me know so I can seek the face of God on your behalf.
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