The Secrets Hidden in the Shadows

Luke 8:17, "For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light."

Psalm 44:21, "Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart."

Darkness Can't Hide Anything!

Secrets. We all have them. We all bury them deep within the recesses of our minds. We all struggle with them, or have at some point in our lives. We all have shared some and been the recipient of the trust of another to be told some. Secrets. They are often times things that are done in the shadows, from guilt and shame, from torment and trauma. They are the things that follow us through life that we don't always necessarily want to be brought to light....or life. Secrets. They can shatter a life. They can break someone mentally. They can cause behaviors. They can almost always cause distress. And as with shadows, they're always there. Some days, when the sun isn't shining and hidden behind the clouds, they are hidden from view. They're still there, but not noticeable. Then other days, when the sun is peaking out ever so slightly, there it is....the shadow! Faint, but there. Not so caustic but still you know it's there. Following you, trailing your every move. Yet, still, other times, when the sun is brightly shining over your head, no clouds in sight, the shadows are more prominent, more intense, more invasive. More present and more threatening. That's secrets. Secrets aren't shared with every passer-by. When I speak of secrets, I'm not speaking of confiding in someone something that is a feeling, such as confiding why you don't trust someone, or why you feel a certain way about a decision, or why you don't want to discuss a situation with a supervisor. Those are not the kinds of things I'm speaking of regarding secrets.....

Secrets that hang around even when we don't want them to be there. Secrets that are in the darkness. Secrets we all have. Secrets we all know. Secrets of shame. Of guilt. Of sin. Secrets that we fear. Secrets. Hidden. In. The. Shadows. There's an old saying from many generations ago, "We all have skeletons in our closets." This is a true statement. Although it may be true and although we may be hiding the darkest of our beings from the other people in our lives, only selectively choosing to share with others, if at all, those "darkest secrets" are NOT hidden from our Creator God! In fact, by the time our human, fallen nature even comes to grip with whatever it is we're keeping hidden, we've "justified" it, we've changed some of the details, we've colored it up a little. It's just how it is. But to our Lord and Savior? He knows it as it truly IS, how it truly happened, how we really were while burying those secrets. He knows it all. We can't hide from the Lord, nor can we run from Him! We can't hide a single thought, action, word, feeling or deed from Him. He created us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Psalm 139:1-4 tells us, "Lord, you have examined me and you know me.
2) You know everything I do; from far away you understand all my thoughts. 3) You see me, whether I am working or resting; you know all my actions. 4) Even before I speak, you already know what I will say." You see, He knew everything before we were even conceived by our parents. He knew each decision that we would make, every word we would speak, every path we would choose to take, every person we would meet.

Any secret we bury deep within the recesses of our minds is known by our Father in Heaven. If we have repented, asked for His loving forgiveness, and are a born again child of God, those secrets are washed clean. White as snow. So we need not spend too much time ruminating upon our pasts or being afraid of it. We have become a new creation in Christ upon being covered by the blood of Jesus from His unselfish sacrifice on the Cross! For many though, the secrets that they keep hidden in the shadows have made them feel as though they were too "dirty" or too "broken" or too "bad" to be forgiven, or loved, or wanted, or accepted by God or anyone for that matter. Those secrets have destroyed them. They have made them turn to addictions or act out with bad behaviors. Those secrets have made them to be untrusting of others and has caused unnecessary emotional stress. For many, it's too hard to let go and to know just how much Jesus Christ loves them and is waiting with open arms for them to come running into for His Grace and Forgiveness! Secrets have destroyed way too many people and continues to do so. Secrets aren't easy to let go of by any means nor are they easy to keep in the shadows if they aren't a child of God. By that I mean, once we become a born again creation in Christ Jesus, we are made new. All sins, including our secrets, have been washed clean. Yes they still exist and eventually we will be in a better place spiritually at some point to deal with them and move on. However, if you aren't, then the shadows of those secrets will continue to haunt your thoughts, minds, and soul. They will continue to resurface to taunt you and torment you driving you deeper and deeper into the shadows and further away from the very one that is waiting to help you through it! Satan is a nasty instigator and he just loves to make people ruminate over things until they become so broken that they don't "believe" God COULD forgive them much less WOULD! How wrong they are!!!

God Knows You Intimately!

The Bible reminds us over and over again, throughout Scripture of the amazing comfort and peace that wonderfully comes from being known and loved by our Creator God. We're truly known and perfectly loved by God, even more clearly and truly than we could ever know and love ourselves! Loving ourselves is a bit hard for many of us but the majority of us "think" we know ourselves pretty good! That really isn't so though, in fact, it's often quite difficult for us to know ourselves well enough to clearly discern our longings, needs, and deepest desires. I can confidently say that I've told many people that I know myself and to some extent I DO! I know what triggers me, I know what my characteristics are, I know my work ethics. I know those types of things. On the surface. But do I REALLY know my intentions? My deepest desires? My longings? My needs? I'm not so sure any of us really can know those things outside of Jesus who knows, guides, directs, instructs, redirects, disciplines and LOVES us unconditionally! As I prepared for this post, I've thought about the many times I "thought" I knew what I "needed" only to find out God knew it much better! I had a few recent instances when what I thought I needed would have been a disaster once God stepped in and showed me what He knew I needed instead! It's those times when I realize just how detrimental it is to listen to the Holy Spirit prompting you because many times it's to caution you away from a negative choice! So putting it simply, what we think we need and what we actually need are not always the same. This is especially true in times of pain, grief, anguish or suffering. I know we've all experienced those strong, and sometimes deceiving emotions and they can be devastating! As human nature dictates, we just want to flag down Jesus with our white flag of surrender and say, "Come over here! I’m really hurting and need you to fix this right NOW so I don't feel this way anymore!" Truth is, Jesus does want to heal us and comfort us, yet He also desires to heal our deepest longings and truest needs, which He often does so even if we don’t know what that need is. That's how loving He really IS!

In the mystery and beauty of God’s wisdom, instead of simply erasing pain, secrets in the shadows and brokenness, He chooses to heal it by taking it upon Himself and transforming it, and you, in the process. We see this in the most perfectly and powerfully way on the Cross as Jesus took death upon Himself so that through it He can speak life and victory! Please take heart and trust that the very thing (s) in your life that might feel like it might be your undoing, can, instead, be something you offer to God for healing and restoration by laying it at His feet. Nothing is too big for our God! Nothing is too "shameful" for our God! Nothing is too regretful for our God! Nothing is too sinful for our God! He will restore and heal the most broken! He will shine the light over your head so brightly that the secrets you've been hiding in the shadows won't be able to taunt you any longer because the shadows will slowly diminish. Though it might seem improbable or even impossible to you, nothing is too great for a God who knows you better than you know yourself! Psalm 139:13-16 says it best, "For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14) I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 15) My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16) Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them." So for many out there that have been told they were a "mistake" or they shouldn't have been born, or they weren't "planned," REMEMBER THAT SCRIPTURE!!! You are NOT a mistake and YES! You were SUPPOSED TO BE BORN! Per God! He does NOT make mistakes!!! Every single on of His creations are Divine and purposeful. They are created with His care and love, hand selected! Never doubt that and believe His Truth! You see, Satan WANTS you to believe you were a mistake or that you shouldn't have been born! That's just the lying spirit over your mind and thoughts that he tries to bring to you that is contrary to the Word of God concerning your being and creation! God even knows the number of hairs on your head! Luke 12:7, "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." This scripture is a prime example of how little we know of ourselves because there is no way that we could ever know the number of hairs on our own heads! Romans 8:29, "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."

Remember, before time began, God loved you and He knew you. Hebrews 4:13, "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." My dear readers and friends, God knows every tear you have shed, every pain you have felt, every sorrow you have felt, every deed you have done, every sin you have committed, every single thing is known to Him! He sees whatever we’re going though … and He knows our every struggle. You see, the struggle to believe God sees us that often occurs to some people, oftentimes signifies a problem deep within our hearts, not His heart for us. WE have the heart issue, not God! And yet, doubts don’t make us broken believers, just broken people living in a world where things break our hearts - and God’s. Remember Paul in prison? The apostle Paul was in a Roman dungeon for his faithfulness to the gospel. But one night, Jesus paid him a little visit and said in Acts 23:11, "But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome."" Jesus was revealing to the great apostle Paul that He was more than aware of his situation even if Paul didn't think Jesus knew what he was going through. Just because he was in a prison didn’t mean that God had lost track of him. That is further from the truth! Jesus is there with us in our "prisons" as well. Some literal prisons and some physical/mental/emotional prisons. Whatever type of prison you are in, Jesus is there with you! He knows what you are going through. He knows what you are feeling. He's saying to you, "Be courageous. You are not alone, and I am fully aware of your suffering/pain/shame/guilt/secrets." Jesus also knows what lies ahead, what is in the shadows and where we are in the present. Because He knew what lied ahead for Paul, that's why He came to Paul in his particular hour of need.....because He knew he would need this special touch.

Paul wasn't really privy to what was going on all around him at this point. He didn't know that 40 men had taken an oath not to eat or drink until they killed Paul! There's an old saying that ignorance is bliss and sometimes, it's a fitting saying as it was in Paul's case. Many times over, and even looking back over my own life, it’s really a good thing that we don’t know all that is swirling all around us in both the supernatural and natural realm. I'm not so sure any of us could handle it appropriately! I know as I reflected over some situations when I'm glad I didn't know all the things swirling about around me, I could only imagine how terribly I wouldn't have acted or responded too soon. I'm glad God know and I didn't! God reveals to us only as much as we absolutely need to know, when we need to know it. Only He knows how much we need to know and when we need to know it, if at all. It's not necessarily more and certainly not less, but EXACTLY what we need to know. To be clear here, none of our troubles, although all were unexpected to US, did not come as a surprise to God! The military has coined a very precise term that it uses for sensitive information. If it's necessary for you to know something, then it’s on a "need-to-know basis." Much in the same way as the military, God gives us what we "need to know," when we need it as well. This is a great place to insert a quote by C.H. Spurgeon, "The Lord knows all about your troubles before they come to you; He anticipates them by His tender foresight. Before Satan can draw the bow, the preserver of men will put His beloved beyond the reach of the arrow. Before the weapon is forged in the furnace, and prepared on the anvil, He knows how to provide us with armor of proof which shall blunt the edge of the sword and break the point of the spear."

In reality, no matter how hard one may try to hide who they REALLY are, it ALWAYS, and I do mean, ALWAYS, comes out. In one way or another. You simply can't hide who you are. The secrets hidden in the shadows that you will try so desperately to suppress, will inevitably change you and challenge you making it more and more difficult to keep them hidden. You'll feel compelled to tell someone, sometime, that you believe you can trust. Secrets boil over. Satan just waits in the wings until it happens then comes in a fell swoop and tries to destroy you even more. So you simply can't hide who you really are and much more can be said if you are in Christ. If you're called "son" or "daughter" by God our Heavenly Father and you've been saved by Jesus Christ, then you have been given new life through the Holy Spirit, and THAT means you can’t keep that newness of your new life hidden. It will always be made manifest, because the "light" that is glowing inside of you, the Light of your undeniable faith will eventually be revealed. Even if you try to cover it up or hide it or not speak of it. It WILL be revealed. This is a good and powerful and positive thing! So if we can't hide who we really are and if we're also called a "son" or "daughter" in Christ, we can't hide the Light inside of us, then anything we do, or say, in secret, hidden and dark places will also be revealed and be brought to "light." So negatively, the same is held true as well. If the heart and/or mind is dark and rotten, and if there's darkness within your soul, it, too, will be made manifest. It has no choice. Inevitably, it'll come through in your speech, whether in words of anger, jealousy and hatred, or through the sweet words of manipulation, the darkness will always be brought to light. No matter how hard you try, no matter what kind of appearance you put forward, what you are, and who you are, will be revealed. With that said, what's more, WHO you belong to will also be revealed through what is revealed as well.

Luke 12:2-3, "For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. v3) Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops." The application of the power behind those words should really make us consider our own actions a little more carefully, and do so with fear and trembling. We should be asking ourselves, "What have I done that, if revealed, would end my career, marriage, ministry, relationship, or anything else I have been blessed with?" Or with the words we've spoken, we might want to ask ourselves something along the lines of, "What have I said, or even thought (thoughts BECOME actions, both verbal and physical) that would put the worst of rants to shame? What words have I spewed that would tear down the spirit in another?" Nothing we have done or said or thought is a secret unto the Lord. Nothing. Even in the beginning, in Genesis 3:8, trying to hide from God because of sin was started in the Garden of Eden, "They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden." Each individual inherently KNOWS, without a doubt, that there is a right and a wrong, good and evil, and God and devil. And because God created us to know Him, then we know when we've done something sinful. It's ingrained in us, in our DNA. It's also human nature to keep our secrets hidden in the shadows, where we "thing" they're safe. That's why we have "guilt" and are convicted of those wrongs and sins. You see, people avoid God all the time for many reasons but primarily because of sin and rebellion. Sin keeps them entangled in bondage, choked by the chains that weigh them down, holding them back, while the shame and guilt keeps them right there in the thick of things, in the heat of it. But you want to know what God says? In Ephesians 5:11-14, "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather [a]expose them. 12) For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13) But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14) Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light."

God is Greater Than the Secrets

It is imperative for all of us to drag our sin(s) into the Light so God can set us free from them. We can do it willingly or we can try to be :stronger" than God and fight Him from revealing them for us. Bad news! You will lost the battle. God will reveal them even if you fight Him on it. Why? Because He wants us to be free and not enslaved to sin. Satan wants us enslaved and broken and miserable. God wants us to cleanse all of the secret things and the dark things hidden in the shadows so His Light can fill those spaces, illuminating them so as to kill the darkness! This doesn't mean that we scream our secrets to the world and everyone within earshot, nor does it mean we confess all to humans. It means we scream them to our Savior, it means we confess them and share them with Jesus! But we have to be willing to let go. To stop struggling with Him. To be willing to swim in His refreshing living waters. I know there are some people out there who struggle to even see what sins they have in their lives so if you are one of those people struggling with this, then you need to open up the Bible and start reading! God will reveal those things to you through His living Word! Whenever you spend time with Jesus Christ in the Word, He will reveal many of your struggles then He will help you through the healing process! How AWESOME is our God! However, if you try to hide from Him; if you reject Him, then eventually, your sin(s) will find you out and destroy you, along with everything and everyone else around you in one way or another. Sins just don't effect us. The thing is we all mess up from time to time and we've ALL messed up in the past. We're all damaged, broken and flawed people peppered with plenty of emotions that sometimes we allow to get the best of us. This is a simple, yet sad truth. Job 34:22, "There is no darkness or deep shadow Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves." It's not about if we mess up or try to hide something in the secret places of our minds and hearts but rather, it’s what we do WITH the mess up and the slips and slides, that can, and will, make us or break us. We can mess up and ask for help, seeking forgiveness, and try to repair the hurt and damage, but it might be long and painful process. It's better and much more mentally and spiritually healthier than hiding it, suppressing it, and trying to keep it in the dark. No matter how long and painful the "recovery" is from our "mess-ups", it WILL get better. It will also diminish in intensity the brighter the Light is shone! We are promised that. Healing and forgiveness are truly one of the most powerful gifts from God and no matter how hard we try, we can never understand or fully comprehend it.

But, you see my dear readers, friends and brothers and sisters in Christ, if we don’t stop the madness long enough to ask for help, or cry out to those that love us the most, and do battle against our struggle, we won't be able to bring down the very destruction that will ultimately ruin us and in many cases, others. The things that are secret and done in the darkened places of our minds and hearts, can and will ruin lives, trust, faith, marriages, love, friendships, children, memories, businesses, respect, and a million other things that have been placed in our lives! 

Since God sees ALL things in ALL people, then nothing we do or think or feel is ever hidden from Him. Jesus Christ is the Light of the World and if you are save by His Grace and sacrifice on the cross, then you possess the same Light because it lives IN you and will shine THROUGH you. Our sins and wrongdoings will be brought to Light, but some may only be brought to our own recognition and not to others around us unless we choose to share those struggles with the ones we love and who love us in return. However, I want to make it perfectly clear, as you look around at the lost and unsaved, and throughout this fallen world, you will see a trend of darkness coming to light all over the place. Those things done in secret that people think, mistakenly, will never be found out, has already been known first by God the Father and God the Son, but secondly, the darkness is drawn to the Light and it always finds its way to the light. Always. Things that are done in secret and held captive by the darkness, can manifest itself through our physical being, spiritual being or our emotional being. It can and almost always WILL, harass us, taunt us, haunt us, and affect us in all sorts of unhealthy ways. I've always taken my past to the Lord Jesus Christ and laid it at His feet, but then there are many times I've needed the shoulder of someone who loves and cares for me and who is willing to pray for me and with me. God put people on this earth to help us, to encourage us, to assist us with our healing and to love us through the pain. Yes we are to go to Him first and foremost, without a doubt. But holding in the darkness and the secret things can also cause more harm than what it already has caused by the actions or thoughts in the first place. Being tormented by the secret things aren't what God wants for us! He wants us to be free and cleansed! There are all sorts of "secret" things that can and will, in time, be revealed. There are secret societies, secret pacts, secret oaths, secret sins, secret clubs, secret fraternities and secret "knowledge." Every single thing, including those just named,will in time, in God's perfect time, be revealed and it will all come to light. There's a whole "world" of dark and secret things. But that world won't or rather CAN'T survive without Light! That whole underbelly of secrecy, darkness and evil will flee at the slightest flicker of light because one slight flicker of Light is MORE powerful than the whole of the world of darkness! Lest we not forget that! 

God Knows YOUR Story!

How many times have you said, "Nobody knows what I'm going through. Nobody knows the pain I'm experiencing. Nobody feels the way I feel. Nobody knows what it's like to...." We've all said it and in our own defense, we all meant it at the time we spoke those words! It can certainly feel that way when we're dealing with surmountable issues! But GOD DOES KNOW ALL OF THAT!!! He knows your feelings and frustrations. He’s seen the crisis in your soul. There’s no hurt, pain, sadness, frustration, or crisis that goes unnoticed by God. Psalm 56:8 says, “You know how troubled I am; you have kept a record of my tears. Aren't they listed in your book?” There are battles that take place in the fighting arena of our mind and these battles affect our spirit. Doubt, unbelief and fear, create uncertainty and inevitable will cause a lack of confidence. It also creates a feeling of despair. No worse feeling than that! Arrogance, pride, and an unwillingness to change our closed mindedness is extremely destructive. These negative emotions are debilitating and can ultimately cause us to suffer great losses of productivity. They can, and will, also rob us of joy because they keep us from the realization of just how precious we are to God. Knowing how much He loves us is an empowering and liberating discovery that I pray each and every one of you will come to know and experience! Secrets are temporary and don't last long, not to mention you can't count on them to remain the same. But you most definitely can count on the Light to be the SAME and everlasting and trustworthy and permanent! Matthew 10:26-27, "Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 27) “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops." The real temptation is for us to boldly reject all of the pain of conscience, the pain of the realization of our own sinfulness and imperfections and the consequences of those actions/thoughts. To our minds, it actually appears to be better to just endure the pain of sin and avoid the light that will expose those sins. It's the Light of God's goodness that shows us up. It's God's Light of scrutiny that exposes us, the light of truth that penetrates our deception. So what we feel safe and comfortable doing is to secretly confess our sins to God, asking for His forgiveness. And He WILL and DOES forgive us as He has promised. However, we will likely go right back out and do the same secret thing again in the vicious cycle of sin because honestly, and scripturally, we need more than forgiveness; we need HEALING. If we aren't healed then we continue in the same muddy waters we were in before when we thought nobody was watching.

God knows first hand what pain is! Make no mistake. Look at Psalm 56:8 again. So you see, while being pursued by his enemies, David had the the wisdom to write these words. When we're in pain of any kind, we tend to feel isolated. That's the crippling thing about pain because when we experience it, our human nature is to shut everyone out, try to deal with it alone or internally and to hide it the best way we see fit! However, know this. Pain and offense are the very tools Satan uses to isolate us and make us more susceptible to ongoing spiritual attacks. If the devil can use our pain to his advantage and to drive a wedge between a believer in Christ, then he is doing his job. He knows that all too well, too. He is constantly on the prowl looking for whom he can devour. 1 Peter 5:8, "Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the Devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."  God knows what pain is. He knows what disappointment feels like and He knows how stubborn mankind is because He created all things, Colossians 1:16, "For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him." knows all things, Psalm 139, and can experience in perfect matrimony, all things. God isn't just the Creator of all things visible, Colossians 1:16, "For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him." but also everything in the spiritual realm including our emotional state! 

Those hidden things done in secret and the hidden sin in the shadows ultimately involves the compounding sin of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy means "the practices of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense. a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess." Secretly sinning, or doing hidden things, actually intensify a persons guilt because they add the sin of hypocrisy to their offense. Hypocrisy is a grave sin in its own right as you look at the definition, you understand why. It can also produce a debilitating kind of guilt, because by definition hypocrisy entails the concealing of sin. And the only remedy, the only cure, is for any kind of sin to involve the uncovering, or unveiling, of our guilt through sincere confession to Jesus Christ. Hypocrisy, therefore, permeates the soul with a predisposition against genuine repentance and that causes more strife. That is why Jesus referred to hypocrisy as "the leaven of the Pharisees." Luke 12:1, "In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." Hypocrisy works directly against the conscience and causes a split in convictions and belief systems. There's no way to be hypocritical without searing the conscience. In essence, then, hypocrisy inevitably paves the way for the most vile, soul-darkening, character-damaging secret sins. Hypocrisy compounds itself, just like leaven. So please beware of that sort of leaven.

In God's Light, pride melts away like wax, and the impulsivity of sin and flesh is to hurriedly run for cover, to hide our faces, to crawl in a dark shadowy space. But, if we simply resist the temptation to "darken the light", then God will illuminate all of the weaknesses that we foolishly, and sometimes invitingly, "stumble over." The great thing about this is it's part of the "truth" that will "set us free." It's THE TRUTH AND ONLY TRUTH! Psalm 51:5-6, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6) Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom." And also in Proverbs 28:13, "He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy." Our words are also able to be brought to Light as well! Look at what Luke 12:3 says, "Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops." 

Mark 14:33-34 states, “He (Jesus) took Peter, James, and John with him. Distress and anguish came over him, 34 and he said to them, “The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch.” The King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ, was so overwhelmed with sorrow to the breaking point of final death. Imagine that scenario! He was so deeply distressed and trouble, something we will never comprehend in our lifetime, that His sweat literally turned to blood! Luke 22:44, "And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground." In medical terms, that's a real condition called hematidrosis or hematohidrosis. This is a very rare condition that literally causes one to ooze or sweat blood from the skin when not cut or injured. It occurs under extreme physical or emotional stress. We are deeply ignorant, shameful, arrogant and prideful to think that Jesus can't comprehend what we are going through or have been through or understand! In fact, it's the other way around!! WE can't begin to fathom the pain He experienced on the Cross on our behalf and in our rightful place! He knows all about pain! Something we humans will never know the extent of! He knows OUR pain. OUR depressions. OUR misery. OUR thoughts. OUR secrets hidden in the shadows. OUR guilt. OUR deepest fears. He knows us FULLY! Jesus is so relational and is close to the brokenhearted! Psalm 34:18, "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit." He heals and binds our tender wounds. Psalm 147:3, "He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds." He's faithful and does what He says. 1 Thessalonians 5:24, "He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it." Jesus is the epitome of Love. 1 John 4:8, "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." He is slow to anger, very gracious and compassionate. Nehemiah 9:17, "They refused to obey,

And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage. But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them." He is forgiving! Matthew 18:21-35! Jesus Christ the ONLY Savior of mankind, is all that we need because in Him, there is FREEDOM! Galatians 5:1, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."

Since Jesus knows what pain is, and moreso what it means to truly SUFFER, then rest assured, He knows OUR pain and suffering. In this fallen, broken world, there are many temporary fixes to deal with our pain because the world if FULL of ideas! But I'm going to give you 3 easy Biblical Steps along with scripture to remember in order for you to deal much safer!

1) Pour your heart out to God. This shifts your focus from your struggles onto God's might!

    A) Psalm 61:2, "From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

    B) Philippians 4:6-7, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7) and the peace of God,  which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ        Jesus."

    C) Matthew 11:28-29, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give   you rest. 29) Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

2) Surround yourself with Seasoned Christians. Those who will only speak life into your spirit.

     A) Ecclesiastes 4:12, "Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.  And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. 

     B) Proverbs 11:14, "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

3) Be still and experience the presence and power of God.

     A) Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I  will be exalted in the earth!

Your secret life is the real litmus test of your character! Proverbs 23:7, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he....." Do you REALLY want to know who you really are and what you really represent? Then I'm lovingly suggesting that you take a long, hard look at your private life, your private thoughts, those innermost thoughts, your actions or lack thereof. Open the Bible, God's living Word and hear what He wants you to know! By gazing into the reflective mirror of God's Holy Word, you will allow it to disclose, reveal and ultimately correct, the real thoughts and motives of your heart. All the secrets hidden in the shadows will slowly fade away. Satan will lose his grip on you. The Light ALWAYS prevails! 

Jesus Christ is the ONLY Way! He is the TRUTH, the LIFE and the WAY!

John 14:6, "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

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