Ever since I entered the youth group at my church, it has been my biggest dream to attend Passion Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Every year I would hear the seniors come back from Passion with amazing stories of what God had done and how awesome the worship and speakers were, and each passing year I longed to go even more. Everyone knew how excited I was to be blessed with the opportunity to FINALLY go to Passion with the other seniors and college students because I literally wouldn’t shut up about it every day leading up to the day we set out for Atlanta.
The day I had waited so long for had finally arrived. I couldn’t wait to worship with the Passion City band, Crowder, Matt Redman, and Brooke Ligertwood and jam out with artists like KB and Andy Mineo. I couldn’t wait to actually be in the same room as Louie Giglio, the one who started the whole Passion movement, and I especially couldn’t wait to hear Priscilla Shirer speak. From the moment we set foot in Phillips Arena, I was on cloud nine and ten and every other number cloud under the sun. We were a little late getting seated the first night, so we were sitting on the very top row, and the audio echo was rough up there, but I loved every second of it. Sitting in my hotel room after the first session, I thought, “Wow. This is gonna be the best trip of my entire life.” I mean, worshipping God Almighty with 30+ thousand other students my age? Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?
Little did I know that Passion wasn’t just about singing songs and listening to a bunch of lengthy sermons. I was definitely not expecting my life to change whenever Christine Caine stepped onto the stage. She delivered God’s word in a message so powerful that I did a lot of business with God that day. Her message talked about shame. In Genesis chapter two, God made man and woman, and the Bible says that “the man and his wife were both naked and not ashamed.” When God created us, he never designed for us to know what shame is, but the enemy brought shame upon man whenever he tempted Eve into disobeying God in the garden. After eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve knew that they were naked and hid themselves from God in shame. Here we are now in 2018 where shame is prevalent among young people more than ever. Social media has played a big part in causing this. We are fine with our lives until we log on to Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook and see how great everyone else’s life is. Then we start to compare our lives with those on social media, and we begin to think that we aren’t “pretty enough” or “smart enough” or “funny enough” or whatever else we insert in that blank. We get so discouraged in ourselves because of what the world says about us, and then whenever we mess up and sin, we don’t think there’s any hope left. We feel unwanted, unclean, unloved, and unqualified. That’s exactly how I felt going into Passion 2018.
Oh, but the story doesn’t end there. In chapter three, God calls out to Adam and Eve and asks “Where are you?” Adam told God they were hiding because they were naked and afraid. Now this is where it gets good. God asked Adam and Eve, “Who told you that you were naked?” The questions Christine starting asking after reading that verse really resonated in my heart. Who told you that you’re stupid? Who told you that you’re ugly? Who told you that you’re unwanted? Who told you that you’re a mistake? Who told you that you’re not good enough? Who told you that you’re dirty? Who told you that you’ll never amount to anything? Who told you? All of these are lies from satan. He wants to make you believe these things about yourself so that you will forget who you are in Christ and live a miserable life in shame.
You see, if we don’t know what the God of the universe says about us, then we will believe what the enemy tells us through media, friends, parents, government, music, and television. Our heavenly father tells us in Genesis chapter one that we are created in HIS image. In Psalms we are told that we are FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made. We are God’s perfect, loved, clean, wanted children. God sent His one and only son Jesus Christ to die for our sins and to take away the shame that satan has placed upon us. Whenever we realize who we are in Christ and put our trust in Him, the lies of the world mean nothing, and we are able to live the life that we were intended to live.
I personally had been struggling with a sin, and I felt dirty and unwanted by God, but hearing Christine’s message, I realized that God has always loved me and sees me as His precious child. I walked into Passion 2018 a saint of Christ who was ashamed, but I left a Saint who is shame-free. It’s time that we stop giving satan what he wants. It’s time we stop believing his lies. Let me ask you that are reading this: Who told you? You are precious. You are loved. You are freed. You are beautiful. You are forgiven. You are His.