I was in a worship service a couple of weeks ago and the Lord showed me that many of His people still wear garments of sin and shame, but He wants to clothe us in His glory.
The Bible says that Jesus bore our sin and shame:
1 Peter 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed.
Galatians 3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us…
Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right had of the throne of God.
Isaiah 53:4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Before sin entered the Garden of Eden, the Bible says that Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed. They were clothed in robes of light that reflected the purity of God’s glory. When they fell in disobedience to God, they became clothed in sin and shame. To cover them, God made them garments of animal skin, a temporary covering.
But we don’t have to cover our sin and shame anymore. Jesus made Himself an altar that we can lay our garments of sin and shame upon. And we get to walk away clothed in something else, something eternal.
Isahiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels.
Zechariah 3:4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”
Just a few months ago I had a revelation of something God was wanting me to take off. It was in the middle of my workday when suddenly, I felt very uncomfortable in the clothes that I was wearing. I felt like they just didn’t fit me anymore. They fit a style, or a trend, but they didn’t fit me. Now, there was nothing wrong with the actual clothes I was wearing, but this is how the Lord gives me understanding. My response to this was, “I’ll just get rid of the clothes. If they don’t fit me, then I don’t want to wear them.” I recognized that this was a moment of victory for me because in the past, my normal response would have been to figure out how to change and adjust myself to fit what doesn’t really fit me. Then I had a realization, and I even said it out loud when it came. “I am ok with me.” Transformation!
Wow. I don’t know that I have ever been ok with me. Then I realized I had stepped into a freedom that I had never stepped into before, and God was telling me that the garments of fear; fear of man, fear of failure, fear of rejection, that I had been wearing for years just didn’t fit me anymore and it was time to take them off. The best part of this moment was knowing that I was finally ready to take off the garments of fear and allow myself to be clothed in Light, in Glory, in Righteousness.
Perhaps you have been living your life clothed in fear, rejection, or bitterness. Perhaps you have been wearing the unloving words that have been spoken to you or unforgiveness for things that have been done to you. Perhaps you have been wearing the garments of lies that you are not enough or that you can’t ever be redeemed for what you have done. Whatever may be covering you today, I want you to know that Jesus has made something else available for you to wear:
You have been liberated from the guilt, shame, and consequences of sin. Jesus has cancelled all of your debts. Every violation and record of indictment against you is null and void. All the sins and stains of your soul have been erased and cannot be retrieved. Everything you once were in Adam has been nailed permanently to the cross as a public display of cancellation.
Jesus made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping away from them every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse you. And by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were his! (Romans 8:1, Colossians 2:14-15)
Let that be your garment today.
Be Blessed.
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)
