Inside Out: A 40 Day Journey to Transforming Your HeartSample

Secrets

Secrets. We've all had them. A secret is something we keep private. It is something we want to remain unknown or unseen by others. Often it is something about ourselves. Something we've said. Something we've done. Something that's been done to us.  

If we are brave enough to share our secrets with someone, we often ask that they not tell anyone else. If they do, we feel exposed, and trust is broken. It is rare to find someone we can trust with our secrets. We fear they will condemn us, or they might share our most humiliating, embarrassing moments with others.  

Secrets began when sin entered the world. The first man and woman chose to make their own decisions with their own wisdom and decided not to obey God's commands. He told them not to eat the fruit from one specific tree. Only one thing was forbidden. Yet, they couldn't withhold themselves from trying it.  As soon as they tasted it, they knew they had sinned and immediately hid from God. They did not want Him to know what they had done. But He did know, didn't He? We can't hide from God. He sees what we choose to do. He sees where we choose to go. He hears what we choose to say. Psalm 44:20-21 says, "If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart." God knows our secrets. But He also sees what's inside us. He knows how we are feeling about what we did or said. He knows when we have walked away from Him and embraced something that is forbidden. God also knows how it's tearing us up inside. 

We aren't meant to keep secrets hidden. When held deep inside, secrets isolate us, condemn us, and eventually destroy us. It seems funny now, but in middle school, I told my friends that I had leukemia. I lied to them because I thought if they believed I was sick, they'd have compassion for me and be my friend. This secret lie consumed me. My solution was to tell my friends I was in remission and no longer had cancer. Unfortunately, the new lie that covered up the old one didn't free me.  I felt so convicted, but I couldn't admit it was all a lie.  I got to the point where I asked God to give me cancer because I believed that having it, no matter the struggle or possible results, would be better than the pain of living a lie. The Lord faithfully convicted me for over six years, and finally, at the end of my senior year, I confessed to a group of friends that I never had cancer. Surprisingly, they embraced me, and with their forgiveness, I felt free. Only when I bravely shared my secret could I move forward in freedom, joy, hope, and experience God's blessings in my life. 

God knows you want to be set free from the burden of holding onto secrets.  He knows that you long to be right with Him and others. He sees your heart. Listen to what God said to the Prophet Samuel when he was examining Eliab, one of David's older brothers, as the potential next King of Israel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man see: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). God chose David to be king because of his heart. He was humble. David was known as a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22). Yet, David didn't live a sinless life. After becoming king, he secretly committed adultery and then murder, so that, he could have another man's wife.  Those are huge secrets. How did he recover from that? He humbled himself by confessing his secret sins to God, and God forgave him. God didn't just forgive him; God blessed him. It would be through his lineage that our ultimate King, Jesus, would be born. 

God doesn't care who you appear to be on the outside. He isn't impressed with your achievements, titles, or goals. He cares about your heart. When you get your heart right with God by humbly confessing your secret (that He already knows), you will be able to experience freedom, joy, hope, and His blessings in your life. Exposing what's inside is scary. But when you expose yourself to God, He will graciously come alongside you, forgive you, and begin to rebuild your life from the inside out.

Take a Moment: 

• What secrets have you been holding onto that you need to share with God and others openly?

• What are the benefits to risk and share with Him what He already knows?  What are the possible consequences if you don't? 

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, there are no secrets between You and me. You know everything. It is hard to be vulnerable and admit my secrets because shame is involved. But You took my sin and my shame and put it on the cross when Jesus died for me. Thank You that I can admit anything to You, and You will come alongside me, forgive me, and reestablish an honest, trusting relationship with You. I know I cannot be transformed from the inside out unless I confess my secrets to You. So, here is what I want to confess today _______________. Thank You for knowing my heart and forgiving me. I ask that You will now rebuild my life and use my life for Your glory. Amen.