Day 2549 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.
Proverbs 10:9 NIV
The problem with lies and believing in them is that we become convinced that it's okay. We slowly lose sight of the truth and just keep sinking deeper and deeper into this dark existence that makes us think all of our sins and mistakes are hidden. We buy this idea that we can do whatever we want without it being known. And that quickly leads us to start believing that there's no consequences. After all, nobody knows what we're doing, right?
We've all fallen for that way of thinking to differing degrees. Maybe we came to realize the foolishness in it pretty quickly. Maybe we're still not able to accept that we've been wrong for longer than we care to admit. Whatever the case, the underlying fact remains the same. There's no hiding from God. There's no concealing our actions. There's nothing that we've done that He hasn't seen. Scary, isn't it?
There's this innate fear in that truth that can easily keep us focused on trying to hide. I think that deep down we know we can't hide anything. We know that it's all going to be found out at some point. But the fear of being proven to be imperfect is terrifying. The fear of all our mistakes and sins being made known is the epitome of horrifying. But as scary as it may be, the truth stands, and our actions cannot be hidden.
The quicker we bite that bullet and accept the fact that there is no hiding, the better off we'll be. We can keep trying to hide. We can keep thinking that we can do things in a certain way in order to keep them secret. We can live the rest of our lives doing as we wish without ever stopping to accept the fact that it's all going to come into the light. But we can't avoid the message of this verse.
This world likes to live in this delusion that everything's okay and there are no mistakes, and therefore no consequences. People love that lie because it brings with it this sense of freedom. But the crooked paths of this world all lead to one destination. And if we're smart, we'll get off right now before we blindly end up where we don't want to be. As fun, or free, or carefree as the ways of this world may seem, it doesn't make them right. And just because they're extremely popular doesn't mean they'll win in the end.
Friends, I know lies have this appeal that seems to fit just what we want. That's because lies are custom made to offer exactly what we want. But what we truly need is to humbly accept the truth because it's only in that truth that we'll ever find freedom. Freedom to stop trying to hide. Freedom to stop doing things we feel the need to cover up. Freedom to live without fear of punishment should our mistakes come to light.
Look, they're going to. Every bad decision and every stupid mistake will be laid out before our Lord at some point. We can keep doing things our way and live in fear of that impending day when there is no more sense of hiding. Or we can do it now. We can admit our flaws and surrender our pride to the Lord now. We can accept His gift of mercy. We can be changed by the power of His salvation. We can admit that we've done wrong and ask Him to help us do better.
If we could just do that, if we could just humble ourselves and step into His light now then we'd find that fear of the truth vanishes. We'd find a freedom that doesn't depend on our ability to hide. We'd find we don't have to live in fear of anything because the blood of Jesus has wiped away all those things that we've spent so long trying to cover up. But only if we do what needs to be done now rather than waiting until we don't have that opportunity.
Friends, we don't have to exist in the shadows. We don't have to run and hide forever. We don't have to live in fear of the consequences that we're trying to avoid. We can find freedom, forgiveness, and mercy in our loving Father. Please don't wait. We don't know when that chance runs out. But it will. So please don't risk waiting a little too long only to find that there's no more time left to accept Christ as your Savior. It's not worth ending up on the wrong side of eternity just to stay comfortable right now.
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