And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
— Genesis 3:11
Recently, I had a moment where I found myself at the end of what seemed to be a busy day, where it felt like nothing got done. I felt defeated. It was the repeat to a common theme that seems to present itself in this season of my life. It has felt like a whirlwind of judgments and expectations. Some spoken by others, some assumed… many of which have made its way into my thoughts. I sat in my room contemplating “what went wrong”, what could I have done differently. Once again, I had failed. And then the whispers found my mind:
“You’re too lazy, you should have gotten up earlier.”
“You’re disorganized, you should have planned better.”
“You’re a diva, you took too much time putting on makeup.”
“You don’t have enough responsibilities, you’re not truly prepared.”
“Nothing you do is ever good enough.”
“YOU’LL FAIL AGAIN.”
Now this wasn’t something new. At times I’ll wrestle with these thoughts, fight the accusations. My mind, the battlefield – God’s word, my sword. But on this particular night, I had reached a breaking point. My spirit had enough to the point where the only thing I could tolerate was my dark room. No light, no sound. Just release, my deep breaths, and tears. In my dark room I sat broken down before God.
I poured out every frustration before Him, every fear, and every insecurity that had been building up inside of me.
“God, I am trying.”
“God, I’m just not good enough.”
“God, I messed up again.”
“God, I’m not quick enough.”
“God, I have no fruit to show.”
In the presence of my Heavenly Father, I sat before Him simply exhausted.
Then, in the middle of my tears, when I had nothing left to say, the Lord responded with one question. “Who told you that you were naked?” I sat in my room with the question settling heavy on me. One, because I thought that question was only reserved for Adam and Eve thousands of years ago in the Garden of Eden and two, because I actually was trying to figure out how to answer the question. Like a child who felt like they were about to get in trouble, I tried to find reason. I tried to figure out how I was going to answer. The moment those words settled in my spirit, everything stopped. The tears stopped. The racing thoughts stopped. The accusations… stopped.
I just sat there in the quiet of my dark room, overwhelmed by the resounding nature of the question. I had brought before Him revelations about myself that He never meant for me to carry. And yes, although there could have been a little truth mixed in those thoughts, truth mixed in with a little hint of lies is ultimately – A LIE.
TRUTHS:
- Yes, you have failed before, BUT Proverbs 24:16 says, “for though the righteous man fall seven times, they rise again.”
- No, you absolutely are not good enough, God promised in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.”
- And finally “Where’s Your Fruit?”, doing all the works out of your own self-reliance – for the outcome that you want, with no true trust in God. Did God not say in Jeremiah 9:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Just as He had asked Adam and Eve the same question in the Garden of Eden after they had sinned and hidden themselves (Genesis 3:11, ESV), God wasn’t asking because He didn’t know the answer. He already knew exactly what was going on. His question was an invitation for me to examine the source of the revelations that had opened the door for the lies to creep in.
If we take a look back, before sin entered the world, Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed (Genesis 2:25). Shame wasn’t part of their identity. Fear wasn’t their covering. Self-consciousness wasn’t how God created them to live. Sin introduced a new voice, a new nature. Death, deception, a falling away. A voice that distorted God’s truth and caused them to see themselves differently than God saw them.
So again, as I sat in my room that night, I realized I had been listening to voices that God had never spoken over me. Without realizing it, I had begun measuring my worth by performance instead of presence, by productivity instead of peace, and by pleasing people instead of pleasing God.
Humbled by the question, Who told you that you were naked? It allowed me to come back to my identity and strength in Christ.
He had never called me “not enough.”
He had never called me “too much.”
He had never called me “a failure”.
Those names did not come from Him.
Those labels were never part of the identity He had given me. That night, I was able to let go of everything I had picked up – I let down all that He never asked for me to carry in the first place. It pulled me back into His peace. It reminded me that my identity is not determined by the opinions of others, my mistakes, my performance, or accolades. It is determined by the One who created me, and continues to walk with me. That night, sitting on the floor of my dark bedroom, He didn’t give me a lengthy sermon. I didn’t receive a list of things to fix. I received one question. And that one question put me back in “my place” (in Him).
The Takeaway
We all hear voices throughout life that try to tell us who we are.
Some come from painful experiences.
Some come from criticism.
Some come from comparison.
Some even come from ourselves.
But before you believe those voices, stop and ask yourself the same question God asked Adam and Eve, and the same question He asked me in a dark moment:
Who told You that?
If the answer isn’t God, then it doesn’t belong in your identity.
Return to His presence.
Return to His voice.
Return to the covering He has already provided through Christ.
You don’t have to perform to earn what Jesus has already secured through grace.
You don’t have to prove your worth to the One who has already called you His.
Sometimes healing begins, not with God answering our questions, but with Him asking us one that exposes every lie we’ve believed in the first place.
Scriptures to Meditate On
- Genesis 3:11 (ESV)
“He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
- Romans 8:1 (ESV)
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
- Isaiah 26:3 (ESV)
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
- Galatians 1:10 (ESV)
“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
- Ephesians 2:8–10 (ESV)
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding me that my identity is found in You and not in the opinions of others, my failures, or my performance. Forgive me, and I repent for believing lies You never spoke over my life. Help me to recognize Your voice above every other voice, to rest in Your presence instead of striving for approval, and to trust that Your grace is sufficient for me. When fear, comparison, or condemnation tries to define me, I pray that You remind me to ask, “Who told me that?”, for the leading of Your Holy Spirit, and to give me the courage to reject every lie that does not come from You. Thank You for covering me with Your love, Your peace, and Your truth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
