I Am Found: Quitting the Game of Hide and Seek with God and Others - Softcover

Dingman, Laura

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802414680 ISBN 13: 9780802414687

Verlag: MOODY PUBL, 2016

Inhaltsangabe

Are you tired of battling shame?
Long to be truly known and deeply loved?
Hesitant to show others the real you?

We are all made for connection, but many of us live with walls up and hearts closed. What would it take for us to let go and stand tall and unashamed?

I Am Found

guides us in just that. This six-week Bible study on shame and identity explores how we can own our stories, trust God’s affections, and relate honestly with Him and others.

Each week begins with biblical teaching and is followed by five days of guided reflection. Drenched in Scripture, and allowing plenty of space to journal and savor biblical truths, I Am Found welcomes you on a personal journey of transformation through God’s Word.

Laura Dingman invites you to build your life on a beautiful, liberating truth: Jesus loves us in our weakness, but He doesn’t leave us there.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

LAURA DINGMAN spends most of her time creating and leading worship experiences that help connect people with the story of God. She has served in vocational ministry as the Creative Arts Director at The Creek, a large church in Indianapolis, for over a decade. She loves to show people where their story intersects with God's story. She enjoys belting Broadway, laughing hysterically, reading great books, and living life with her favorite two people in the whole world, her husband, Matt, and her spunky daughter, Abigail. She is the author of Life Rhythms: Learning to Live in God-Centered Time and I Am Found: Quitting the Game of Hide and Seek with God, Ourselves, and Others. You can learn more about her journey and connect with her at www.lauradingman.com.

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Are you tired of battling shame?

Long to be truly known and deeply loved?¿

Hesitant to show others the real you?

We are all made for connection, but many of us live with walls up and hearts closed. What would it take for us to let go and stand tall and unashamed?

I Am Found 

guides us in just that. This six-week Bible study on shame and identity explores how we can own our stories, trust God’s affections, and relate honestly with Him and others.

Each week begins with biblical teaching and is followed by five days of guided reflection. Drenched in Scripture, and with plenty of space to journal and savor biblical truths, I Am Found is a personal journey of transformation through God’s Word.

Laura Dingman invites you to build your life on a beautiful, liberating truth: Jesus loves us in our weakness, but He doesn’t leave us there.

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I Am Found

Quitting The Game Of Hide And Seek With God And Others

By Laura Dingman

Moody Publishers

Copyright © 2016 Laura Dingman
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-8024-1468-7

Contents

To You, the One Who Longs to Be Found, 8, 
Using This Book, 11, 
Week 1: Fig Leaves Don't Hide Anything, 13, 
Week 2: Know Your Enemy, 43, 
Week 3: Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!, 77, 
Week 4: You Are Not Alone, 113, 
Week 5: You Are Enough, 143, 
Week 6: You Are Found, 173, 
Conclusion: You Have a Story to Tell, 201, 
A Word about Stewarding Your Story, 204, 
"My Deepest Gratitude", 205, 

CHAPTER 1

Fig leaves don't hide anything

INTRODUCTION TO WEEK 1

WHY DO WE HIDE?

There you are. It's middle school all over again. You're standing in the center of a crowded cafeteria. Boys and girls point fingers as they double over laughing. You can hear the sound of their laughter. Your face grows hot. You feel a slight breeze. A little colder than usual. You wonder what's going on, how you got here. What is happening? Then you look down and discover you have neglected to put on a stitch of clothing. You stand stark naked, uncovered. You re also the unfortunate centerpiece of a jam-packed middle school lunch period.

We've all had our own version of this dream at some point in time. It varies in scenario, but is rooted in similarity. The possibility of being exposed petrifies us. Our fear connects to physical exposure but reaches into other areas as well. We just don't like to be laid bare. It shames us.

It hasn't always been this way. Imagining life without this embarrassing fear seems difficult. Life without shame existed in the beginning, though its impossible for us to understand.

Let's set the stage: In the opening act of creation, God crafts beauty everywhere. A garden is planted with trees, plants, and flowers watered by rivers, lakes, and streams. Living creatures frolic, and everything is in perfect harmony, and God proclaims His creation to be good. God breathes life into Adams nostrils and man enters the scene. God proclaims it all to be very good. Not just good, as it has been every other time, but very good (Genesis 1:31).

The Creator understands the man needs a helper (Genesis 2:18). One by one, the other living creatures parade before Adam. As he names them all, each is assessed as a potential partner for him. After all are considered, no suitable helper is discovered (Genesis 2:20). So out of Adam's own flesh and bone, God designs a woman to be a perfect complement for him.

In the midst of the creation account sits a tiny verse, seemingly unimportant at first: "Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame" (Genesis 2:25). Unclothed, uncovered, man and woman walk around feeling absolutely no shame whatsoever. Granted, no one points and laughs at them, but still, disgrace and humiliation are not a part of the equation at this point. No shame. No masks. No hiding. No pointing and laughing.

Enter the serpent. His arrival on the scene changes everything. To fully comprehend the shift in the story, we have to understand a little about the serpent's nature. Genesis 3:1 says he was more "crafty" than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. The word crafty in Hebrew is 'aruwm, meaning subtle, shrewd, and sly. He isn't a crafty DIY-er, but he is an artist of sorts. He just happens to be an artful liar. With his appearance, doubt, lies, and shame enter the scene for the first time, disrupting the harmony of Eden.

He engages in a conversation with the unsuspecting woman. He inquires, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1). At first, the question doesn't phase her. She doesn't miss a beat. She repeats God's instructions. "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die' (Genesis 3:2-3). For whatever reason Eve adds and you must not touch it," her response proves that she knows and understands full well the guidelines God gave to Adam (Genesis 2:16-17). After all, she's been living by them.

Immediately, the sly serpent makes a simple statement that changes everything: "You will not certainly die." He pronounces a half-truth. That's what makes him an artful liar. There seems to be a tiny nugget of truth in what he speaks. The woman would not die immediately after eating the fruit from this tree, but she would die eventually if she ate it. Then the crafty creature whispers to the woman, God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5). In other words, God didn't tell you the whole truth. He's holding out on you. He's keeping from you something you could have.

Most likely, before this moment, the woman had never considered the fruit on the tree. It was off-limits, so she never even wondered what would happen if she ate it. God said to stay away, so she did. He set a boundary, and she complied without question. But now, because of the voice of the shrewd serpent, her curiosity awakens. Suddenly, she views the tree differently. "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" (Genesis 3:6). Before her diabolical dialogue with the serpent, she thought nothing of the fruit. She was content to do as God had said. Now having spoken with the schemer, she suddenly wants what isn't hers to take. Her curiosity stirs her desire. She craves the fruit that would make her to be like God. Fearful of missing out, she wants what the serpent told her God is withholding. In her naivety, she shares her discovery with Adam and hands him a piece of fruit.

For a split second, the succulent fruit tastes delectable, sugary sweet and crisp. But the enjoyment fades instantly when shame overwhelms them. With the knowledge they have gained, they discover they are naked, exposed. Before the fruit, they were naked — they just didn't know they weren't supposed to be. They had no reason to feel ashamed. Now the desire to hide and cover their nakedness overtakes them.

In an effort to fix the problem — to conceal it — they create coverings for themselves from fig leaves. Fig leaves are about five to ten inches long and four to seven inches wide. They aren't enormous or all that sturdy. Adam and his wife sew some together anyway, attempting to camouflage themselves.

As they hear God strolling through the garden, the real game of hide and seek begins. At the sound of God's footsteps, fear hits hard and they hide from God among the trees of the garden, hoping God won't notice their new outfits.

God calls to the man and asks, "Where are you?" The all-knowing, omniscient God already knows where Adam is hiding and what has been broken in Eden, but He questions anyway, giving the man an opportunity to openly admit what's transpired — an opportunity to come clean. It takes some deeper inquiry to get to the root of the problem. Adam starts with the obvious: "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid" (Genesis 3:10). Pretty sure the fig leaf getup was a dead giveaway for that one. God digs a little deeper, giving him yet another chance to tell the truth, asking, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" The straight answer...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: MOODY PUBL
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2016
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0802414680
• ISBN 13: 9780802414687
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 208
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Moody Publishers; https://www.moodypublishers.com; ; 820 NORTH LASALLE BLVD.; CHICAGO; IL; 60610; USA
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar