And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26
Sometimes, I believe we conceal the deepest part of our hearts behind a camouflage. We may have been betrayed or hurt. We may be holding a grudge or feel the weight of guilt. We walk, talk, and act the Christian part to hide our innermost feelings. We put on our best behavior for the world to see because we know, deep down, people would not like the real person we are inside. We begin to question, “Could a holy God love the nasty real me?”
The Bible clearly states that God's thoughts and ways are much higher than ours. It also states that God is love. We can try to hide in our camouflage, but God has full disclosure of our true identity; however, this does not affect His love for us. God's perfect love for us is unconditional. 1 Peter 2:24 says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross…” The Bible says that “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8
Did you notice? God did this when we were wading deep in the manure of sin. We can try to hide behind a camouflage suit of religion, rebellion, comedic actions, or a tough exterior, but He can still smell the manure. He doesn’t step back, hold His nose, and offer us an outstretched hand. Some may say, “Well, you at least have to reach up and grab His hand?” But what if even your hands are weighted so that you cannot lift them? Because of God’s great love for us, He climbs down into the stench alongside us. He stretches out His arms of love and wraps them around us.
We don’t have to step out of the cesspool; He lifts us out. It’s not what we do; it’s what He does. He removes our camouflaged armor to rid us of guilt. He exposes our painful secrets. He plucks out the hurts, dashed dreams, envy, and hopelessness. He literally burns out the debris from us so that we can finally view His kind eyes, and we can hear his loving voice say, “All is forgiven. You were always mine, it’s just you didn’t know it. I never left you. Welcome home, my child.”
We may be able to fool people with our camouflaged facade, but God sees our unpleasant realities and still desires a relationship with us. It may be time for you to allow God to remove your hidden heart of stone. His unconditional gift of grace has your name on it, and it’s already signed: Love Always, Your Papa.
Lord Jesus, I am tired of hiding. I need help. Amen
Comments
Post a Comment