Devotion Series: How to Take off Shame and Walk in Grace

Shame—guilt, disgrace, reproach, dishonor, humiliation, indignity

“The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” (Genesis 2:25)

In the beginning, life was good. All was well. God created the entire world with all of its splendor and beauty, and called it good. Adam and Eve, created in the wonder of the image of their God, lived in complete paradise and bliss. They enjoyed life and God as He created them—they lived in complete freedom.

But their world of freedom and fulfillment would be radically shattered by one simple act of rebellion. In a world where they knew no shame, they would become well acquainted with pain, guilt, and sin. All because they believed a lie.

A Shameful Act

Enter the serpent. More crafty than the other animals the Lord had made, Satan convinced Eve that God was not good. Instead of appreciating His divine love for her and Adam, the serpent planted a seed of doubt and deception. God in His goodness told Adam, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17).

Notice the word free. God told Adam that he and later his wife Eve were free to eat any tree in the garden. What an abundance of trees there must have been! They were free to live within the boundaries God lovingly placed around them. A life of true freedom is a life with boundaries. 

A private school near our house recently built a new playground for their preschool. As the workers constructed the new playground over a period of a few days, the beautifully constructed playground was complete—the only odd thing was that the new playground was built in the front of the school on a very busy street.

I drove by the school thinking what a beautiful—but dangerous playground. The next day a thick metal fence was erected and surrounded the entire play structure. Now the preschoolers would be free to play safely. 

God is a good and gracious God. He told Adam and Eve that they were free to eat from any tree in the garden, but a “fence” was placed around only one of the trees in the garden. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. At this point, Adam and Eve only knew what was good.

They knew that God was good. But Satan presented Eve with a question of doubt—“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” (Gen 3:1b) By the end of their conversation, Eve believed Satan’s lie that there would be no consequences for her disobedience (vs 4), and took matters into her own hands:

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Gen 3:6)

The results were devastating…

 “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)

The blissful paradise they both knew changed forever when Eve chose to believe the lie. The serpent, crafty and conniving, convinced Eve that she was missing out on something. She believed that God really wasn’t good; that he was keeping something good. As a result of her rebellion, Adam and Eve both realized something wasn’t right.

They realized they were naked, and felt the stark shame of their sinful act. They tried to cover their shame by sewing fig leaves together, but it was too late. Their world of paradise was broken. 

Covering their Shame

“The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21)

God communicated to Adam and Eve the consequences of their shameful act; that sin would slither into the world just as certain as the serpent would crawl on his belly. But God did not abandon them. He already planned provisions to reverse the curse of sin through Jesus. The consequence of their sin was death.

But Jesus came to die for all of humanity. God in his grace covered their shameful nakedness by providing garments of skin for them to wear. Later on, God would forever cover the shame of sin for all who would accept his Son.

Reflection Questions

Like Eve, what lies has Satan whispered in your ear about…

God?

Yourself? 

Sin?

How can we as God’s dear children resist the lies of the Enemy of our souls?

A Prayer of Thanks for God’s Grace

Lord, I thank you that you covered my shame with the garments of your grace, mercy and compassion. Thank you that I can walk in freedom and victory because of Your finished and complete work on the cross. Each day, remind me that Your grace and mercy gives me hope, healing and strength. Amen.