Scars

“I was afraid if you saw it, you would run away. I thought if you ever knew you wouldn’t want me anymore” Those are the words of the sweet heroine in a book I read years ago. The bride is crying to her groom because she has revealed an ugly scar on her back from a childhood of abuse. Her husband draws her closer and assures her that this slight imperfection does not diminish his love for her, but makes him want to protect her from further harm. The scene is endearing, but the girl’s words stuck with me. “If you ever knew . . .”

I think that so often when I receive your kind words about my writing and teaching. “If you ever knew . . .” If you knew the places I’ve been, the foolish, sinful things I’ve done, the stupid mistakes I’ve made – I’m not sure you’d ever trust me again. To say that God has done a work of grace in my life is a vast understatement. I understand David’s testimony of praise for the One who “redeems [my] life from the pit and crowns [me] with love and compassion” (Psalm 103:4). I have been in some deep, dark pits. But God . . .

Truth be told, we all have that thing (or several things) that we want to keep well hidden from the world. Maybe it is a physical issue, an emotional matter, a blot in our family history, or a regret from our past – whatever it may be, we believe it marks us as imperfect. Unlovable. Undesirable. So we cover it with make-up or long sleeves – we hide it behind a mask or a brave face. “If you ever knew . . .”

We may be able to hide it from others, but there is One who sees what we try so carefully to conceal. He knows us completely, warts, scars, hang-ups, and all. Nothing is concealed from His all-seeing eyes. That’s a scary thought. Jesus sees you – the real, raw, imperfect you. And yet . . . HIs heart is not repulsed. His eyes are not averted. His love is not diminished. Scars – whether physical, emotional, or spiritual – are nothing new to Him. Beloved, He who bears the scars of thorns and nails and spear understands yours and loves you still.

Hide and Seek

Joy likes to play “Hide and Seek” and I like it too because her version calls for Nana to sit in the recliner with a blanket over my head while she wanders around the living room searching. Of course, she knows where I am, and when she finds me she climbs into my lap for a minute or two of snuggles and then she’s off and searching again. My part is just to sit there and wait. I like this game.

God calls us to seek Him. The Bible is full of admonitions to “Seek the Lord and live” (Amos 5:4, 6); “Seek my face” (Ps 27:8); “earnestly seek [God]” (Ps 63:1); “seek [the Lord] and rejoice” (Ps 70:4) and so many more. The meanings range from seeking out in prayer, worship, petition, inquiry, desire, trust, and encounter. But what is so sweet to me is the promise that whatever our reason for seeking the Lord, He says, “I will be found by you” (Jer 29:14). Unlike my and Joy’s game, God isn’t hiding from us. He wants us to find Him, so much so that He puts Himself right in our path so we can’t miss Him. Truth be told, God finds us. Like He found Hagar in the wilderness (Gen 16) and the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) and the lost sheep (Luke 15).

Our act of “seeking” is not done with the eyes. Moses said, “If you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut 4:29). That’s so much more than a casual five-minute devotional before racing out the door. That means engaging your mind and will – your thoughts, desires, emotions (oh, there’s a biggie), and determination, and applying yourself to understanding Him through His Word – both written and in the person of Jesus.

When Joy and I play our little game, I sit and wait to be found, but as soon as we turn our hearts toward God, He reveals Himself – and He’s dropping “hints” all the time. It might be the beauty of a sunrise, the face of your child (or grand), a song, a random kindness, or even driving past a church one day. He is constantly wooing us to Himself.

Beloved, the God of the universe wants you to know Him. He wants you to find Him.  He is not lost, nor is He hiding. Just turn your heart in His direction. He is as close as your next breath.

Are You Hiding From God?

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?'” (Genesis 3:9)

Did God really not know where Adam and Eve were? Is it possible that the omniscient, omnipresent God was clueless to His beloved creation’s whereabouts and actions? Not a chance. I believe God was asking Adam, “Do YOU know where you are?” “Do you realize what you have done?” They had walked with God every day in the goodness of His creation, but now they feared His presence and thought they needed to avoid their Creator. Sound familiar?

When you and I fall to the temptation of the enemy, when we surrender to sin, our first inclination is to hide, to cover ourselves so God can’t see our shame, and to avoid Him at all costs. But do we really believe that He is unaware of our actions? Do you think God doesn’t see us cowering in the bushes? We can’t hide from Him. We can’t cover up our sin. But the love of God can (1 Peter 4:8). The blood of Jesus covers over our sins and makes us acceptable in God’s sight.

When David sinned, he tried to dismiss it, but it was futile. Eventually, he had to confess “I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me” (Psalm 51:3). You and I know that too. We can try to dodge it and hide it and pretend it didn’t happen. We can even rename it and make it sound like less than a sin, but it’s always there. When David finally came clean with God, confessed his sin with brokenness and sorrow, he found sweet forgiveness. His spirit was renewed, The Joy of God’s salvation was restored and he now had a testimony of redemption. (See Psalm 51)

Where are you? What are you trying to cover up? God knows all about it. It’s time to bring your sin out of hiding. God will forgive you. He will hide your sin under the blood of Jesus. He will restore your Joy and turn your failure into a beautiful testimony. Come out of the bushes Beloved, your God stands ready with arms open wide.

Clean Hands and a Pure Heart

“Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:3-4).

In this day of coronavirus, one thing is for sure, we have learned how to wash our hands. We have posters telling our students – college students – how to wash their hands. Clean hands are one of the best ways to cut down on the spread of germs.  (I’m not getting into the mask/no mast debate, so don’t start, please.)  Besides, it’s just common good hygiene, with or without a pandemic. In case you missed the poster: wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with a liberal amount of soap, covering the front and back of your hands and between all your fingers.

In Psalm 24 David declared that the only one who can stand before the Lord Almighty is one who “has clean hands and a pure heart.” I don’t know about you, but it will take more than 20 seconds to get my hands clean enough to stand before God. The word “clean” implies innocence and “hand” specifies the palm, meaning one is innocent with nothing to hide.

Clean hands are the outward evidence of a pure heart. That’s the only way I can see the condition of your heart. If you can open your hand – essentially open up your life to inspection without fear of what will be revealed, you have a pure heart. Let me put it another way: can your spouse, your child, or your pastor have complete access to everything on your cellphone – including all the hidden stuff – without embarrassment or fear of what they will see?  If you cringed just now, you may need a heart check.

I’m not judging. I’m not sure I could be so open myself. That’s the human dilemma – because of Adam and Eve, we all have impure hearts. That’s the bad news.  But there’s also good news. Jesus can purify our hearts and give us hands that are clean enough to stand before God. He is our Savior with not just clean hands, but nail-scarred hands. Beloved, if you put your dirty hands in His holy hands not only will your hands be clean, but your heart will also be made pure. That exceeds even pandemic standards.

Hiding from God

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?'” (Genesis 3:9)

Did God really not know where Adam and Eve were?  Is it possible that the omniscient, omnipresent God who called the universe into existence was clueless to His beloved creation’s whereabouts and actions?  Not a chance.  I believe God was asking Adam, “Do YOU know where you are?”  “Do you realize what you have done?”  They had walked with God every day in the goodness of His creation, but now thought they needed to avoid their Creator.  They hid their bodies from one another and tried to hide themselves from God.  Sound familiar?

When you and I fall to the temptation of the enemy, when we surrender to sin, our first inclination is to hide, to cover ourselves so God can’t see our shame and to avoid Him at all costs.  Do I really think that He is unaware of my actions?  Do you think God doesn’t see you cowering in the bushes?   We can’t hide from Him.  We can’t cover it up.  But that is a gift, not a source of fear.  When David sinned, he tried to dismiss it, but it was futile.   “I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me” (Psalm 51:3).  You know that too.  We can try to dodge it and hide it and pretend it didn’t happen, but it’s always there. When he finally came clean with God, confessed his sin with brokenness and sorrow, he found sweet forgiveness.  His spirit was renewed, joy was restored and he now had a testimony of redemption. (See Psalm 51)

Where are you?  What are you trying to hide?  God knows. It’s time to bring your sin out of hiding. God will forgive you.  God will restore your joy and turn your failure into a beautiful testimony.  Come out of the bushes Beloved, your God stands ready with arms open wide.