We had another awesome women’s retreat this weekend. I was one of three speakers at this intimate event to lead women of our church to a deeper walk with God. I spoke this morning about our Eve moments, the moments that we realize we’ve done something we can’t fix. How often we try to hide it, or minimize it, or ignore it altogether.
This group of women was ready for what God had for them. As we prayed for Him to stir our hearts to bring up what we were hiding, these women became very real with God. I so admired that. I want to be authentic with God and stop the hiding. I don’t mean to hide sometimes. I am just so used to it that I don’t know that I’m doing it…until I want to hang out with God. I feel His wooing and I can’t respond because I’m hiding behind a huge fig leaf trying not to be exposed.
Natalie Grant sings a song called “Safe.” In it she says:
“When You uncover, I discover I am not afraid.
But when we’re hiding, we end up fighting to stay safe.”
When I allow God to gently uncover my shame and guilt, I discover I have nothing to fear. My debt is paid in full. When I hide my sin, ignore it, or try to master it myself, I find myself fighting to survive. I don’t need to survive. I need to die to that part of me so that I can live.
My prayer for the women we met this weekend is that God would gently uncover the wounds and shame and offer His gentle healing to the raw places. Shakespeare what right: “Hell hath no furry like a woman scorned.” But the flip side is that there is nothing more beautiful and powerful than a woman who knows she is loved. I pray that these woman may experience how deep, wide, and high is God’s love for them.
Amen
