One of satan’s subtle deceptions is convincing us that
we can do things in secret and they will never be revealed or discovered.
The word of God says that everything done in darkness will one day be exposed to the light.
"For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor
anything hidden that will not be known and come to light." Luke 8:17
Last
summer I stripped off over 120 years of bubbled-up stain and paint from our front door. It was a time-consuming, sloppy, gooey, messy, yucky
job. The paint stripper that I used was
so strong that it ate through four pair of thick rubber gloves and then started on my fingers!
It took me a week of bending over that door, slathering on the solution, waiting for it to curl up, and then scraping off the gook. Layer after messy layer was revealed. So many colors of paint... white, dark green, light green, brown, black, burgundy, pink, and several layers of dark stain. Layers that hadn't seen the light of day in decades!
It took me a week of bending over that door, slathering on the solution, waiting for it to curl up, and then scraping off the gook. Layer after messy layer was revealed. So many colors of paint... white, dark green, light green, brown, black, burgundy, pink, and several layers of dark stain. Layers that hadn't seen the light of day in decades!
Lately,
God’s been showing me that, oh yes; I closely resemble our old door. I’ve had secret sins layered deep in my
heart. No one sees them; they’re nicely painted
over with a pleasant color/smile. Our Abba’s been
busy pouring, slathering, waiting, pealing, and stripping... it’s been a painful
process. Scrape! There goes a layer revealing unbelief.
Swipe! There goes a layer revealing stubbornness.
Scrape! There goes another layer revealing pride and self-reliance.
I’ve found that choosing to live life with secret sin has kept me bound in fear of man and God.
The process of bringing light to the darkness has been painful, humbling,
revelatory and oh so liberating.
Here are a few additional areas of sin that are easy to keep secret. Perhaps some are layered deep in your heart..."But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law." James 2:9 {NLT}
"When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ." 1 Corinthians 8:12 {NIV}
"It's criminal to ignore a neighbor in need, but compassion for the poor-what a blessing!"
Proverbs 14:21 {Message}
Add to those: bitterness, jealousy, pornography, unforgiveness, hypocrisy, and thinking ourselves above another. We're capable and perhaps quite skilled at keeping our sin a secret from others... but never from Christ.
I’m
so thankful that even the “intention of our heart” is forgiven when we repent!
“Repent
of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention
of your heart may be forgiven you” Acts 8:22
Isn’t
it awesome that as we confess our sins to the Lord, He forgives us and strips away our
false righteousness?
“If we confess our
sins, He is faithful and righteous
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness”. 1 John 1:9
I'm so grateful...
Has God been making some changes in you?
I'd love to hear about them.
Leave a comment!
Living
in His grace,
Mary
