Naked Dreams

by Lillian Daniel | published on Mar 2, 2026

Discussion Questions 

  1. Read Hebrews 4:12-16. Then read the devotional below, “Naked.”  
  1. What flaws and vulnerabilities do you hide from others? What misperceptions do others have of you?   
  1. Is it more of a relief or more of an uneasy awkwardness to accept God’s intimate understanding of you? 
  1. How does love – God’s love, self-love, community love, romantic love – depend upon transparency and vulnerability?  

Devotional 

And before [God] no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must rend an account. – Hebrews 4:13 (NRSV) 

I know I am not the only one to have had this dream, but I may be the only one to admit it in a widely read devotion. You know the dream. You are trying to get to an important event, only to realize you are missing some key items of clothing. Like pants. And even more essential items. Sometimes all of them. 

In the dream, I look around, wondering if people in the crowd have noticed that I have taken the old television show, What Not to Wear, way too literally. And oddly enough, the people have not noticed, at least not yet. The nightmare commences with me trying to get from Point A to Point B without anyone noticing I have no clothes on. 

Did I mention that in these dreams, I am often en route to a professional gathering? For me that would be church. But I also have had the dream about elementary school, violin recitals, and even one where I’m competing in the Olympics. 

So this passage about God seeing us naked makes many of us a little uneasy. It’s like a bad dream we want to wake up from. 

But here our anxiety is misplaced. God isn’t checking out our tan lines. God means to express that we are totally known, for better and for worse, even in ways that we would not want the world to know us. And in that state, we are loved. We will be examined, of course, but we will also be loved. 

Prayer
If anyone should see my soul naked, I would choose you, God, because you have seen it all. And still, you sent me Jesus. Amen.

Lillian Daniel About the Author
Lillian Daniel serves as Conference Minister with the Michigan Conference UCC. She is the author of Tired of Apologizing for a Church I Don’t Belong To and When “Spiritual But Not Religious” Is Not Enough.