Monday, November 11, 2024

Do you have secrets? Of course you do!

So do I—but not very many, because I have this awful tendency to tell on myself. I learned once I became a Christian that it was better to tell the truth, bear the consequences, and move on than to try to remember my cover story.

One time, I backed my patrol unit into the lieutenant’s car. It didn’t leave much of a dent, but I knew I had to tell him. He came out with me to look at his bumper and scratched his head. “I can barely see that! Why did you bother to tell me?” I believe my honesty made an impression on him that led him to trust me in other situations.

I imagine that Dan in last weekend’s featured movie, The Family Plan, wished he had made that choice when he and Jessica first got together. His secret, which was certainly more than a dented fender, would have been a hard one to keep forever. However, the longer a secret is carried, the harder it is to come clean. It makes people in your life wonder if you’ve been untruthful in other ways. Once you've pulled the rug of trust out from under a relationship, it’s really hard to get it back where it needs to be.

I have found a great place to practice truthfulness is with God. I mean, he already knows, right? It’s not like you're going to shock him with your antics. In fact, he knew you were going to do that thing before you even did it!

The good news (really, the best news ever) is that your screwup is a sin Jesus died for. You can count on the fact that regardless of how far you’ve strayed off the path God has for you, he forgives you and he loves you.

He chose you.

1 Peter 2:9
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

Questions:
What secrets do you have? Why are they secrets? Who can you trust to tell them?

Next Steps:
Start by telling your secrets to God. Say them out loud, then write them down. Once you say them, they are in the light and no longer hold the power of darkness over you. Writing them down can help you begin to release them. Now, find a trusted friend to tell them to. It will lift a huge burden from you! As you give them to God, you might want to burn your writings as a way of leaving them symbolically with God.

Prayer:
Father God, I am grateful for your mercy each and every day. No matter how I mess up, your love for me never fails! I know you have forgiven me, even if others cannot. As you forgive me, help me go first in extending that same forgiveness to others. Your mercies are new every morning. In your beautiful name I pray, amen.

Series Theme Verse:

Romans 1:20
For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

This post was written by Lauri White, a regular contributor to the LivingItOut Devotional.