Secrets

I seriously doubt if there is anyone among us that don’t have secrets we would prefer to keep buried in the past.  Sins, that when they pop into our minds we’re embarrassed and/or ashamed.

Each day when I have my prayer time, I always start off with praises for the good things in my life.  I especially thank God that He had His hand on me, even as a young child, drawing me to Him.  At the time I certainly didn’t grasp that – I just knew I was drawn to a force that no one had told me about.  When I was about 9 years old I heard the gospel message at church camp and accepted Jesus as my Savior – but, there really was no follow-up to guide me into a stronger relationship with God.  As a teen I felt God move in my life and when I did things that were sinful, I felt convicted in my spirit about them and I’d pledge to do better, but it didn’t usually last; and, unfortunately, that continued on into my adult life.  There were so many decisions I made, things that I did that if I had not had the protective hand of God on me, my life could’ve turned out SO much different – and not in a good way.   

If we allow ourselves to dwell too much on those secrets there can be a lot of negative things happening.  We begin to doubt that God can really love us, we can doubt the acceptance of friends and family, etc.  Then our enemy will use those doubts to discourage us; and, that discouragement can pull us down.  Depression can be one result and that is an area that overflows into every area of our life and can be a hole that’s hard to climb out of, so…what can we do?  We need to look up!

This week one of my devotionals was based on this scripture:  “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”  Colossians 3:1-2 (NIV)  I also like the way The Message translation puts those same verses:  “So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.”

“Because we have been raised with Christ, we have access to heaven’s blessings.  We are no longer slaves to the sinful ways that once held us down….We are fundamentally different creatures than we used to be.  Our hearts should reflect that reality….We can hinder the Spirit’s work within us if we set our hearts in the wrong direction and focus on unworthy things…” *

So each day we should set our hearts on God and seek His will for our lives – forgetting those secrets that try to pull us down.  If we pray for God to forgive us, it’s over and done as far as He is concerned.  He’s put them behind forever – we need to do the same.  “How far has the Lord taken our sins from us?  Farther than the distance from east to west!”  (Psalm 103:12 CEV)  

“Even though there are days I wish I could change some things that happened in the past, there’s a reason the rear view mirror is so small and the windshield is so big,  where you’re headed is much more important than what you’ve left behind.”  (Author unknown)

Written by Karran Martin – July 8, 2023

*Quote from Christ Tiegreen

[Bold quotes are mine]