Honestly Speaking (1)
Monday June 22, 2015
What makes life good? Today, how can we live with a sense of well-being, a heart that is light, and the security of knowing that our relationship with God is on track?
Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart. (Psalm 15:1-2 NIV)
We never wanted to live in the destructive way we find ourselves in. We know from God’s word in the Bible that His desire for each of us is to have peace and joy in living life to the full. Now it is time to identify what went wrong and where we began to stray from the good path God prepared in advance for us to follow. Only God knows us well enough to help us bring to light the damaging things we’ve kept hidden in our hearts for a long time.
[God] You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. (Psalm 51:6 NRSV)
In spite of God’s promise of healing and blessing, inventory-taking times are often times where we experience anxiety and fear about what we will find when we uncover what has been hidden in the deep places of our hearts. We are afraid that if we start opening ourselves up to the truth – the whole truth – we will be distressed by what we find. We know we have been using all sorts of activities – both ordinary and harmful – to hide from things we ought not to have done, and to avoid guilt and shame about things left undone. We’ve recognized certain character defects we don’t like in ourselves and there are other areas of pain and shame that fill our hearts which we are reluctant to bring to the surface. Each time we make an inventory we ‘tell a little more’ but we find it almost impossible to tell the whole truth. We feel like running and hiding instead of telling the truth.
Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out. (Proverbs 10:9 NIV)
The good news for us today is that God is offering us a road to real recovery and a life of joy and peace. It is based on trusting God with our will and our lives and telling the truth about it all. God promises to forgive and heal. Jesus’ death on the cross is proof that love and forgiveness are available to us for anything and everything we uncover and confess.
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. (Psalm 145:18 NRSV)
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