Welcome to Day 25 of the 40Days of Return. Today, I want to follow you into your hidden world. Will you allow me? We all have areas of our lives we keep secret – for both good and not-so-good reasons.
So Easy To Do
It is natural and easier to identify the faults in others because they seem to be obvious enough to the eyes, neglecting your own the unseen world. When a coworker habitually says words that do not add up on different occasions, then you conclude that they are liars, not saying the truth. That is obvious, but what about the bitterness in your heart against someone? That is not obvious, in fact nobody might know this except you say it out.
These not-so-obvious acts may be negative habits that you have built over time, that have become a part of your life which you no longer consider wrong.
Unhealthy habits will one day give birth to illnesses or open the door to the enemy to attack you. Habits like impatience, lack of contentment, inconsistency, bitterness, procrastination, impurity, lustful pleasures, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, and other sins like these may not be obvious in itself but time will definitely show what you have on the inside by the fruits you bear.
Judgment or Rewards
Many Christians today go about with hidden sins and try to cover them up with church activities. This often is the case when priorities are misplaced, when you have become overly consumed with the sacrifices and burnt offerings while you neglect your devotion to God. You are overly consumed with what you can do for the Lord rather than being with Him to listen and obey.
The truth is there is never a convenient time to devote yourself to God, but as you yield yourself and chose devotion in the spirit of obedience then it becomes a reality.
If you do nothing about your shortcomings before God and man they will remain your reality in life until you face it, name it, ask God for forgiveness and turn away from it to obtain a reward from the Lord before it leads you to judgment. Sin leads its victims to judgment in this present world and the next. What is leading you? Your sinful desires or godly desires.
Remember Joseph’s Brothers!
Joseph’s brothers refused to confess their wrongdoing against their brother but waited for years to pass until the word of God was fulfilled in Joseph as the prime minister in Egypt. Even though they were God’s chosen people who knew God, they suffered for it.
Speaking among themselves, they said, “Clearly we are being punished because of what we did to Joseph long ago. We saw his anguish when he pleaded for his life, but we wouldn’t listen. That’s why we’re in this trouble” (Gen. 42:21).
They bore the guilt of sin for many years, keeping their evil deeds as a secret among them. Confess your sins no matter how many years have passed, and let God have mercy on you. They had been troubled for many years because of their secret sin. Yet they waited for their sins to find them out.
God Know Our Intention
Many believers are like the Pharisee who stood before the Lord comparing himself by saying, ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people, cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ The tax collector returned home justified before God (Luke 18:9-14).
Be careful not to compare yourself with another no matter how hopeless their situation may appear. Go to God in the spirit of humility regardless of your status in godly sorrow for God’s mercy over your life.
Good Deeds with Godly Motives
Humans are the recipient of your good deeds, but God is the rewarder. The good deeds of some people are obvious to all particularly those that hold positions of influence in the society, church, community, and the nation.
Projects sponsored by Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates for humanity are obvious to all. Those projects help improve and support the condition of living of many people, they are touching lives and adding value to humanity. Don’t be fooled to do your good deed to win anything from people, whatever they give you will not last. The scripture says in Matthew 6:1: Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.
Nothing is Really Secret
The good deeds done in secret will someday come to light, nothing is hidden in this world. Whether hidden or obvious, humanity needs those good deeds to make progress. The important key to check is where you place your expectations, in God or in people. Your deeds whether good or bad will become glaring by the fruits you bear.
Be encouraged to do secret deeds, they are greatly rewarded by the Lord. Choose to be anonymous when you give gifts in kind or cash. Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father but that didn’t work out. Joseph retained Simeon in the prison instead of Reuben who was the eldest because of his secret good intention to rescue Joseph. Deeds are like seeds sown which have the capacity to grow and become great.
