And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” Genesis 3:11 (Passage Genesis 3:1-11)
Adam and Eve had been blissfully unaware of their nakedness, until they defied God by eating the forbidden fruit. When they became conscience of their nudity, they hid from the Lord God in shame. The craftiness and lies of the serpent enticed them, and his criticizing voice echoed in their ears.
Then God asked them, “Who told you…?” The original Hebrew word for “told” is nagad (Strong’s 5046), meaning expose, explain, make known. The New Oxford American Dictionary defines naked as “without covering, unprotected, vulnerable.” When God asked Adam and Eve “Who told you that you were naked?”, in essence He was asking “Who exposed you? Who made known to you that you were naked. Who made you feel vulnerable?”
Today, the serpent – Satan – is still active. He uses his voice of condemnation to hold me back. He whispers lies…
“You can’t write! Who do you think you are? No one wants to read about an ordinary life!”
For a time, I listen to those hisses. The whispers expose all my fears, making me feel defenseless. They hold me captive and immobilize me. Deep down inside, there is a terror of baring myself.
The soft hissssss says “You’re not good enough. You’re naked and exposed before the world.”
The hiss uncovers the insecurities of my very soul.
When I began this blogging journey, my small doubts became mountains. I knew that I would be uncovering my life for the world (or at least a small following) to see. My feelings, my faults, my imperfections would be revealed. I would be unprotected.
The hiss persisted:
“Why are you writing? No one cares to read your silly stories!”
I began to question myself: Can I do it? Can I lay myself open and bare before the world?
Satan uses my insecurities to hold me captive to my fears. I want to hide, I don’t want to open myself up to others. The fears hold me back from service and obedience to God. I don’t step out of my comfort zone.
I hear the hisses of Satan. But then I quiet myself, and immerse myself in His Word. I hear a different whisper. I hear the voice of the Savior saying “You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13)” and “Tell your children about it in the years to come, and let your children tell their children. Pass the story down from generation to generation (Joel 1:3).”
I hear Him asking ever so gently, “Who told you that you couldn’t write?”
And I ask myself, “Why not me? Why not my stories?”
I have dreams, and I have Christ in me. I know the truth of Scripture, that He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion (Phil. 1:6). I am not naked and exposed, I am wrapped in His robe of righteousness (Is. 61:10).
Who told you that you couldn’t have God-sized dreams?
Beautiful post – yes the lies we hear rob us of the truth….standing firm with you in the promises God has for us!!
Thank you Kristin! God’s promises are Yes! in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 1:20)
Beautiful Ellen! Second day in a row I hear “God sized dreams”. Hmmmmm, speak Lord Your servant is listening.
Michael – you’re up early! What are your God-sized dreams? Yes, time to listen, if you are hearing a phrase over and over….
PS – Got your phone message yesterday about Super Bowl Party – sorry we missed it! Had a BD party for our 6 yr old grandson, and then another party to attend
Girl, you got some on gab going on here and I love it!
Thank you!
CORRECTION:
Girl, you got some on point gab going on here and I love it!
Thank you so much! Your comment brought a smile to my face! I appreciate you!
Ellen I love that description of the enemy hissing his lies into our ears and I can so relate to being held captive to those lies for far too long! Blessed by your words today! Keep pushing forward and believing God’s truth for your life and your writing!
Thank you Lanette! It’s time to take the shackles off and break free! God has a plan for us!
Ellen,
The voices that tell us we have nothing to share or offer are sometimes so loud — I’m thankful you push them aside to share through writing! Praying for you!
Thank you Valerie!
I enjoyed this post, and I can completely relate. I love that you were able to hear His voice over all else! Keep writing. 🙂
Thank you Tracy!
Absolutely-Why not you? And why not your stories? The devil would love to rob us and keep us ineffective. So glad you’re pushing through the lies…keep hitting publish. We need you and your stories!
Ahhh, that you Alecia! Love your blog, and hope to guest post some day!
Blessings,
Ellen
Anytime, Ellen!
Ellen, God has given you a special gift and I thank you for sharing it with me and so many others. So thankful you listen to God because you have truly blessed my life. Love you~
Oh, Trulie! Thank you so much! I have to confess, for about two years I didn’t listen to His voice, telling me to write….couldn’t believe that is what He wanted me to do! I am so glad I stepped out in faith and obedience – it has been fun and a wonderful journey!
I love you too!!
Thank you for this! Very timely. 🙂
Thank YOU, Amanda, for stopping by!
Ellen, I found you via Words and Wonder. I think the desire to write and the struggle of whether or not it’s who we are is a battle that we all engage in – the enemy is always ready to pounce in the areas of our life that he fears the most. If he can trip us up and confuse us with our gifts, then he has a better chance of keeping us from doing what we are called to do. He has been fighting me all winter, to the point that I haven’t even wanted to write as much. But, I know that it is a gift from God and so I will not give up. Thank you for this post and it’s message! We all need to embrace our “God sized-dreams.”
“The enemy is ready to pounce in the areas of our life that he fears the most” Yes, indeed, and if we allow it, he holds us back from the abundant life God has in store! Thank you, Teresa, for stopping by – DON’T GIVE UP! God will use you and your gifts!
Reblogged this on The Empty Nester and commented:
This is a beautiful blog. You can apply it to your own fears.