Let's Be Honest

Hebrews 4:13

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

I was looking through my Bible and thinking about what to write and I came across this verse which was highlighted. I think at times, we as Christians, feel the pressure to be perfect, to put on a good face for others, yet there is one person that we can not hide from; and that is the Lord.

Even though I came to the Lord when I was really young, I didn’t start seriously walking with the Lord until after college. Since I knew the Lord and His Word and didn’t follow His will, it was hard for me to admit my short comings to myself and to God. You ever notice how when you backslide and then come to church that the Word that comes forth always seems directed to you and your situation? Well this seemed to always happen to me. Every time I came to church I felt like my pastor had been watching my version of The Truman Show (Jim Carrey movie where his life is tapped for everyone to see but he doesn’t realize that his life is a show). Then the alter call; oh that alter call. I had such a hard time with the alter call. I felt like the alter call was so public and I didn’t want for anyone to know that I was struggling. If I couldn’t admit that I had problems to the Lord and myself, how could I ever admit it in front of a large congregation? As far as I was concerned, the alter was something that I decided would just be at my seat. That seat represented a safe place where I was invisible, a place where if I stayed there, people would assume that my walk with God was right where it was supposed to be. And although I knew I heard the Lord tell me that I needed to be at the alter, I convinced myself otherwise.

One Sunday, the pastor spoke about the Holy Spirit and it spoke so deep to my heart that I could not stop crying. I had always wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit and I knew that I was lacking that personal experience with God. And just like clock work that alter call came and just like times past, I weighed my options. Then the pastor said, “If you are worried about your dignity, just let it go. If you have a choice between your deliverance and your dignity, choose your deliverance; you can always get your dignity back.” That was all I needed. I got up from my seat and went straight to that alter and my life has never been the same!

That alter, which used to represent a sort of shame to me, now represented a safe place where I can run to God and say here I am. Flaws and all, take me and change me. I am not perfect, but oh Lord, your work in me will prove perfect! We can hide all we want, but we will never be able to hide from God. He sees what we do in secret and what we do in the open. I don’t have to give an account to anyone except the Lord and at some point you have to be honest with yourself and God! We can’t hide anything from him. I can say that there is no one better to be vulnerable with than the Lord.

The alter is just an example, other things might be sitting in a prayer group and not being honest about what you need prayer about; another could be your testimony. You can fool everyone, but you can’t fool God. So let’s learn to be honest with ourselves. I am not saying to go run and tell all your business, but what I am saying is that we need to keep everything real with the Lord and with our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a wonderful thing to have other saints pray with you and stand with you. A few extra people praying with you can never hurt. When we are open and honest our lives, ministries and testimonies will never be compromised but will show the extent of God’s grace and mercy towards us. Let’s all just be honest.