As we all know, in the beginning Adam and Eve sinned and tried to hide their sin and shame from each other and from God. They used what they had around them and thought that some fig leaves would cover everything they didn’t want seen. I heard one time that fig leaves are big, so they would seem like a good choice, but they are also really rough and painful. That is why it was such a blessing when God made them comfortable clothing from animal skin. God knew better than man how to fix the problems they made and He was even willing to sacrifice the lives of some the animals He created to provide His children with the comfort they so desperately craved.
I feel like we still use the same coping methods today. When we have pain, shame or anything that we want to hide we grab whatever we can find and try to cover it up. Most of the time we choose both hastily and poorly and end up causing ourselves more discomfort and pain than if we had just faced the problem head on. If you have read my previous blogs you know that in the past I tried to hide behind relationships, drugs and alcohol but you could use anything- food, music, appearance, people, grades, money, fame or anything else you could imagine to try and fix yourself.
Though Adam and Eve and most people throughout history have used the quick fix method to solve their problems there is one man who stands out to me as having chosen a different path: David. Before David ever met Goliath he spent his days out in the fields. Before he was ever king over Israel he was the shepherd over his earthly father’s flock. If a lion or a bear ever attacked it was his choice as to how he would deal with it- he could either let one little sheep be killed and eaten or he could risk his own life for a tiny creature that didn’t matter. And this is the part I like: no one would ever know which one he chose. He would face no punishment and gain no fame and no glory. If, however, he made the honorable choice what he would gain was character.
One of my favorite scriptures when I became a Christian was Matthew 7:24-27 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell with a great crash."
In a sermon I recently listened to Heidi Baker says that God is not just the solid rock on which our house stands but He is the Builder as well. It is our choice whether we let Him fill every room of our house with His presence or if we try to keep some rooms off limits and hide from Him. We could be hiding what we do in the living room, the bathroom, the bedroom or the basement and it could be something big or something tiny. But if we choose to be filled with His presence it is evident because shame, depression, sickness and all the other things that plague us can’t exist in God’s company.
This past Sunday our squad leader Scotty got to preach at our church and he posed this idea: we have to be faithful in the little things for God to give us the big things. So here are the challenges: do we trust God with our all? Are there any things or any places of our lives that we are trying to hide from God? Are we letting Him inhabit every corner and every shadow of every room? Why not, what are we afraid of? Are we trying to fix our own problems by just covering the most sensitive parts of ourselves with painful fig leaves? If God really created you and He really knows every thought in your head, every feeling in your heart and every work of your hands, as well as those of every other creature on earth, He can probably fix your problems better than you can.
Let God fill you…
and see what happens.
