by Allie Marie Smith
Do you ever feel fed up with yourself? Are you ever turned off by the reality of your own messed-up brokenness?
I definitely have my moments. Recently, God has been unveiling attributes about my nature I’d rather ignore and push under my bed like dirty clothes when friends show up unexpectedly. I don’t know about you, but it’s not really fun for me when I realize how much junk I’ve been lugging around that’s been robbing me of the joy and peace God’s presence in my life brings.
It feels like a massive fluorescent spotlight (the kind that makes trying on clothes in the dressing room a horrific experience) captured you to find out all your flaws and has revealed all the blemishes you’ve been pretending aren’t there. Sometimes I think it’s the hidden cobwebs of our heart that ruin us the most – the ones no one can see. The sometimes seemingly unsubstantial sins are the ones that have the potential to breed the most destruction.
While the blemishes of our lives (the greed, selfishness, impurity and the like) don’t go unnoticed to God, the good news is His grace is the best concealer a girl could have. See, God doesn’t just cover our blemishes up, He removes them.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:11-12).
Grace is God’s unmerited favor upon us (messed up, sinful humanity) always, not just sometimes. He has affections for us even though we’re not worthy of them. As Christie shared in HerStory, “there has never been a moment in your life when you have not been loved by the Lord.”
Today’s Challenge: Take a few minutes to confess the hidden sins in your life. Pray Psalm 139:23-24:
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Write the hidden sins of your heart on a piece of paper. Then tear it up and ask Jesus to create in you a new heart and make all things new.
What do you need to bring into the light?