Does anyone else love the response to unannounced company? We rush to clean, make sure everything’s out of the way, shoved into a drawer, a closet, sometimes even a whole room is dedicated to hiding our mess. We wouldn’t want people to see how we ‘really’ live. And if it’s a super last minute drop by, we make the disclaimer “Now, it’s not always this dirty.”
So we hide. We semi-rest as the company is around…as long as they don’t go near that drawer, that closet, that room. The closer they get to it or the second you think they might be about to expose it, our heart races, and we sprint to prevent it because, goodness, what will they think?
We do this with our hearts too. We hide areas that we deem imperfect- mistakes, embarrassing addictions, seasons of brokenness, unreached dreams, disappointments, failures, struggles, or just hurt in general. We stuff these things away into some drawer or closet or room of our heart because if someone found out that there’s something we don’t have ‘all together’, what would they think?
One of the things I love most about the Lord is that He asks us to step into the Light. He desires to shine His light onto the places we so desire to keep hidden. He says, ‘when anything is exposed and reproved by the light, it is made visible and clear; and where everything is visible and clear there is light.’ (Ephesians 5:13 amp) Where EVERYTHING is visible and clear, there is LIGHT. Whoop whoop…you know what that means? We can't AFFORD to hide anything. Whatever you keep in the darkness becomes an area of captivity…you become a slave to it, to hiding it.
Just like that junk drawer (closet/room) at your house. We can’t ever be free to fully enjoy what’s going on because we’re always aware of what’s in that closet and very intent on keeping it guarded. And you know what DOES happen when someone opens that closet door? They say, “I have one of these too.” Burden released.
When we give God permission to open those areas and shine a light on them, He USES them! And He uses them for GOOD. And then not only do we have freedom, but it releases others to step into that light and find freedom as well. They remember the hope to which they were called…that hope that says freedom is what He came for. Ya gotta get into that Light :o)
