In the beginning no shame existed. Adam and Eve were both found naked, yet no shame was found within their beings. They had not yet encountered lies and doubts. They were pure and undefiled by the World. This is our perfect design as creation, to dwell without guilt, fear and shame with our Creator. To be set apart.
And they were both naked,
the man and his wife,
and were not ashamed.
Genesis 2:25 NKJV
The father of lies sneaks into the scene and deceives the woman, the lifegiver. He comes in with subtle doubt, playing on her fleshly desires through using her eyes. Sin spills out, like an oil spill in the ocean, and the desperate need for atonement arose in the hearts of God’s people.
In the Word we see the concept of covenant being made with abstract ideas, such as the covenant with death (Isaiah 28:15) and the covenant of peace (Isaiah 54: 10). The way covenant is established within the spirit, is through blood (See Exodus 24:8 and Hebrews 10:29).
We see this concept repeatedly in Scripture. Even the marriage covenant is established through the small particles of blood that comes together when a marriage is consummated. Moreover, the covenant made with the Bride of Messiah was through the blood of Yeshua. His blood was poured out for us. It atoned for our sins, it took away our reproach, and established our true identity in the Father. It gave us the new covenant, in which we find a place of rest. (See Hebrews 13:20). It made a way after sin destroyed our vision to clearly see the way that God made us to see.
The night womanhood came to be with me, shame wrapped its arms around my being like a dark cloud. I can imagine how Eve must have felt after the curse was spoken over her. It had to do with her fertility and her ability to bear children. I was 12 years old, but still felt like a little girl. I was afraid and so I hid. Blood was present in that moment, and a covenant with shame was made in the spirit. This is what Abba revealed to me, years later.
I ran to my room with much uncertainty, feeling insecure. Doubt crept in like a fierce hurricane. I hid under my bed, with my Nokia 3310 and texted my best friend. I told her that I started my first female cycle and that I didn’t know what to do. She was so kind and compassionate, and encouraged me to go tell my mom. So I gathered my courage and went to my mom. She was so gentle with the vulnerable situation. Unfortunately my dad had to go get me my first lady products, as he had the car for the day and was still at a meeting that night. This situation made me so shy and ashamed. I think it is normal that most young girls will feel shy in a moment like that.
Years later, I heard an amazing perspective on the time a girl enters womanhood. The family that was telling the story shared how they celebrated life when one of their daughters started her first cycle. They blessed her as a woman and prayed for her children that would one day be born. They focused on the life giving aspects of the event and not the “gruesome” part.
Now, back to that night in 2004… when I saw the first scarlet signs of me becoming a woman, my initial response was utter shame, fear following close behind it. The Eve within me ran and hid away instead of running to the Father. Like Eve, my soul felt naked and embarrassed.
More than a decade later I battled with the shame of not bouncing back after my second pregnancy. It felt like an inability on my part as a woman. That well known feeling of failure was constantly present. I felt shaken by shame over this cultural failure. I was so aware of it whenever I would visit anyone, especially other women. It numbed me and became a giant obstacle in my confidence within Abba. I allowed shame to make me hesitant to walk in the fullness of what He planned for me. I walked according to the shamefulness of my flesh instead of walking in the Spirit as we are called to do. Humiliation was the garment that I wore in the spirit, instead of wearing a garment of Salvation and a robe of righteousness.
I recently came to the conclusion that shame is rooted in feeling naked in the spirit. When we find ourselves in situations where we feel shamefulness and embarrassment creeping in, it is mostly because we feel exposed in that moment. We exit the situations contemplating many things, often neglecting to see things through the eyes of Yeshua. His perspective on any matter is vitally important.
Back in the garden, the enemy used Eve’s eyes to mislead her.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
Genesis 3:6-7 NKJV
Oh, if only they had eyes to see!
“The lamp of the body is the eye.
If therefore your eye is good,
your whole body will be full of light.
Matthew 6:22 NKJV
May our eyes become like a lamp that is good and filled with light, desiring to look upon the things that are pleasing unto the Father. Be careful little eyes what you see…
In the Book of Revelation, Yeshua comes with amazing advice. He sees the state of our eyes and our nakedness in the spirit, after the fall of Adam and Eve. He then gives us a wonderful invitation with these words:
I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich;
and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed;
and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.
Revelation 3:18
In the above mentioned Scripture, Yeshua himself gives us invaluable wisdom to buy three things from Him;
1. Gold refined by fire, so that we might be rich in the Spirit. Yahweh allows those He loves to go through fire in order for us to be refined and to become part of His people.
I will bring the third part into the fire,
and will refine them as silver is refined,
and will test them like gold is tested.
They will call on My name, and I will hear them.
I will say, ‘It is my people;’
and they will say, ‘Yahweh is my God.’
Zechariah 13:9
It is part of our identity as His people, to be tested and refined as gold.
2. White garments, to cover the shame of our nakedness. In Revelation 19:8 we see that the white linen garments are symbolic of the righteous acts of the set apart ones. Adam and Eve were found naked because of their sin, and so are we. We need to be covered in the garments that He gives to us.
3. Eye salve to anoint our eyes for us to see through His eyes. Yeshua came so that the blind could see again. We’re all blinded by sin, by shame, fear and guilt. We need Yeshua to give us eyesight that is fresh. We need eyes that will not look upon evil and will not be deceived by the sinful desires that sometimes still hide in the shadows of our hearts.
There are numerous interpretations of how we buy these items from Yeshua. Upon discussing it with my husband, we came to some kind of conclusion. As we go through experiences in life, that we overcome through Yeshua that gives us strength, we build up a form of buyer’s power. We lay down our lives, surrender to Him and count the cost of following Him wholeheartedly. As we surrender, there is an exchange happening in the Spirit. Ask and it will be given unto you. It can also be as simple as boldly, yet humbly, coming to Yeshua to ask for what we need. Ask Him to clothe you in the spirit. Ask Him for eyes that will be healed.
In Ezekiel 16 we see another beautiful example of Yahweh covering our nakedness and shame.
As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born. “And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I made you thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare. “When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,” says the Lord God. “Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil. I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck. And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty.
Ezekiel 16:4-13 NKJV
I am in awe of this imagery. Over the years I have read and reread this many times over and I still feel like don’t fully fathom the weight of what Yah does for the bride of Messiah in this. She is found in utter shame and exposed by her history. Things happened to her that she played no part in and didn’t necessarily choose for herself. Other circumstances might have been due to her own decisions. Yet He comes with love and a deep kindness. He comes with compassion and covers her nakedness. He doesn’t expose her further. Friends, that is what He wants to do for us as well. Some of our stories have left us bare and exposed. Like the woman caught in adultery without being righteously accused. And all the so-called “righteous” ones siding with the accuser, the Father of lies, in the words that they spoke. Yeshua’s response isn’t one of reproach but of redemption. He extends mercy and touches her heart, clothing her shame in the spirit and then gently asks her to go and sin no more.
Or what about the woman at the well? Yeshua knew the shadow of shame that followed her, yet He revealed Himself to her as the Saviour of the World. He spoke to her heart and showed her the vantage point of true worship, in Spirit and in Truth. He could have judged her harshly, but instead He extended mercy which draws our hearts to repentance.
Instead of your shame you shall have double honor,
And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.
Isaiah 61:7 NKJV
In Isaiah 61, my most favorite of all passages in Scripture, we see restoration upon restoration taking place. Instead of our shame Abba Father gives us double honour. He takes away our confusion and gives us rejoicing. He promises everlasting JOY! That, my friends, is the opposite of shame and humiliation. Being clothed with honour and strength, as the bride of Messiah, rejoicing in time to come (Proverbs 31:25).
So without further ado, here is 5 reasons why your portion in Messiah is not shame:
1. Because of what Yeshua did on the cross. His clothing was taken away from Him. He took our nakedness of shame upon Himself in that moment. And He gives us His garment of Salvation and Robe of Righteousness (Isaiah 61:3)
2. If you have been baptized into Messiah Yeshua, then you are clothed with Messiah and therefore not naked and ashamed anymore (Galatians 3:27).
3. Those who are wise inherit glory, but a fool’s inheritance is shame (Proverbs 3:35). Our inheritance is glory, not shame.
4. In Isaiah 54 Yahweh gives us a promise and a commandment. Do not fear, you will not be put to shame. As we can already see in the Garden of Eden, fear and shame walks hand in hand.
5. Shame is the fruit of sin. In Yeshua our sins are forgiven. In fact He removes our sins from us, as far as the east is from the west. Shame therefore has no rightful place within our midst.
Over the weekend we attended a worship service with Louis Brittz. To say that it was blessed would be an understatement. Yeshua truly touched my heart on so many levels. Deep places that desperately needed His living water, became a filled up fountain again. Yeshua delivered me from shame! Two songs that they ministered with, particularly touched my heart. (I’m sharing it below.). I could have written those exact words in terms of the relevancy of it. In the one song, the first verse it says the following: “This dried and worn-out soul held captive by my shame”
I invite you to listen to the fullness of the song and hear the voice of the Father singing over you.
May all shame loose its grip on your heart. May you be fully clothed in the Spirit with the precious garments that Yeshua gives us. May every shameful memory vanish away like a vapour as the Sun of Righteousness rises over you, with healing in His Wings. May those same Wings spread over your nakedness.
In Him we live
And move
And have our being
Carmen Tehillah
No more!
No more shame!
You are called by My name
Your nakedness is covered
Under My wings
Your shame is hidden
Under the garments that I bring
A righteous robe
To cloth you with hope
A garment of salvation
To exchange reproach with restoration
I crown you with honour and glory
There is significance in your story
That I AM busy writing
Just keep on abiding
With honour you are clothed
With dignity you are bestowed
Because of who I AM
You are not damned
I want to make you eternally free
Free from the entanglement
Of shame and unrighteousness judgement
Of words spoken in accusation
Of every single intimidation
Come, beloved,
Be made free!
More resources:
- https://bellevuechristiancounseling.com/articles/i-dont-want-to-talk-about-it-a-christian-counselor-considers-shame#:~:text=Christian%20Counseling%20Offers%20the%20Solution%20to%20Shame&text=Knowing%20that%20Christ%20took%20our,your%20life%2C%20consider%20Christian%20counseling.
- https://drleaf.com/blogs/news/how-to-find-freedom-from-the-shame-spiral
Here is Scripture Truths of the things we are clothed with in the Spirit:
