I was thinking about hidden sin. An oxymoron is contradictory. We know from Hebrews 4:13 that God sees all things. The Amplified says, “And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, naked  and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.”

Truth: sin is not hidden. How then can we live in it as though it is? There are several ways. We choose to believe that we won’t get caught. We have seared our conscience so that it is not in the forefront of our mind. We have convinced ourselves that it is alright. Any believer who remains in hidden sin is miserable deep down. The Holy Spirit is our Convictor. He does not ignore what we choose to ignore.

Sampson is a classic example for us. I think some of the saddest words in the Bible are about him. He finally told Delilah where his strength came from. Judges 16:20 says, “…So he awoke from his sleep, and said, I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free! But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.”

Truth: Hebrews 13:5 says that the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us. He was right there when you were sinning. Psalm 46:1 says that He is ever present. However, for the believer the fellowship is broken. We are the ones who depart. Hidden sin is a life of cover up or deception.

Numbers 32:23 is a good verse to remember. I have the reference written in the front of my Bible. It says, “But you did not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.” Think back to examples in the Bible where their sin was found out.

Here is one. Acts 5:1-11 is the narrative of Ananias and Sapphira, his wife who lied. Verse 4 says, “…Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” Do these verses make you nervous? That is the severity of hiding our sin. Sin always comes first in the form of a temptation to that sin. We have full control. No one makes us sin. If we take satan’s bait, we will be strung on his fishing line, and controlled by the lies he feeds us.

A lingering wrong attitude can become a hidden sin. Attitudes come from our heart belief that was set through our past experiences. Ungodly attitudes become habitual if we don’t course correct. Progressive sanctification is God’s way of bringing that correction. It is when we ignore the Holy Spirit’s conviction that we enter into sin. 

Another part of hidden sin is defilement. Achan’s sin affected all the children of Israel. It made them not be able to stand before their enemies. You can read about it in Joshua 7. Verse 11 says, “Israel has sinned, and they have transgressed My covenant…” 1 John 2:8 says, “Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.” Before salvation we lived in sin. After salvation sin is a choice. We choose to walk in the darkness of sin, rather than His Light.

Psalm 119:130 Amplified says, “The entrance and unfolding of Your words give light; their unfolding gives understanding (discernment and comprehension) to the simple.” Every time we read God’s word, and observe to do it, something happens inside. Our spirit thrives, and our flesh is starved. 

Our spirit love His Light, but our flesh hates it. John 3:20-21 says,  “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” Romans 13:12 says, “…Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”

Ephesians 1:18 Amplified says, “By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones).”

1 John 1:6-7 tells us what happens when we walk in His light or choose to walk in darkness. It says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

We need to remember that our darkness is light to the Lord. Psalm 139:12 says, “Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.” Sin is deceptive and dark. It blocks His light within from shining out. It opaques our witness. John 1:7 says of John the Baptist, “This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.”

Our eyes are the widow of our soul. Downcast eyes usually discloses hidden shame. I remember back in 1989 when I spoke at a ladies’ retreat. This gal came and asked me to pray for her. Her eyes were downcast the whole time she described her situation. She had been molested repeatedly by her father and brother. When the Lord set her free, she looked me straight in the eyes. She said: my shame is gone. I can hardly wait to go home and look my husband in his eyes to tell him that I love him. 

I love Psalm 34:5 which says, “They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.” Isaiah 54:4 says, “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth…” What shame holds you in bondage?

Jesus bore all our sins, and the sins done against us on the cross. That means that He bore our shame. It is not ours anymore! If you are bound in shame because of what has been done to you, you are controlled by a lie. It is time to renounce it. 2 Corinthians 4:2 says, “But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”

Jeremiah 6:16 is relative instruction for us. The Lord does not change His message. It says, “Thus says the Lord: Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk in it.”

There was another time when the Lord spoke to the children of Israel. Their response was the same. Isaiah 30:15 says, “For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength. But you would not.”

Why does our heart rebel? 1 Samuel 15:23 says, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord…” These words were spoken to king Saul by Samuel. Witchcraft is a spirit that opposes God and His ways.

Jesus is our example of One who followed His Father’s commands. Isaiah 50:6 says, “I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.” Isaiah 53:10 says, “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin…”

Hebrews 5:8 says, “Though He were a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things that He suffered.” Progressive sanctification is God’s way to train us in His way. 1 Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.”

Balaam’s way did not please the Lord. He stood as an adversary against Him. We can be assured that when our way is not pleasing the Lord, He will bring course correction. That is blessed intervention. I love Psalm 18. There are so many rich truths. Verse 28 says, “For You will light my lamp; the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.” 

Luke 11:34 says, “The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is full of darkness.” When others look in your eyes, what do they see? Habakkuk 1:13 says of the Lord, “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and You cannot look upon wickedness…”

What we look at affects our heart. Psalm 12:6 says, “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” Psalm 19:8 says, “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Psalm 119:71 should be our perspective in our suffering. It says, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.”

This is from the folks I write devotionals for once a month. This goes with my post so I wanted to encourage you with it ~

YOU SAYOCTOBER 11 2021, WRITTEN BY DORIS BECK

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared for us to do.EPHESIANS 2:10

‘I am so ugly!’ ‘No one loves me because I am so unloveable.’ ‘I am so fat.’ ‘Why am I so stupid?’It’s easy to be overwhelmed with words like these, telling ourselves lies that are destructive and tear down our self esteem. But this verse in Ephesians 2 tells something different. We are actually God’s handiwork, his piece of art, his creation.Not only that, in other places in the Bible we are told that we are precious and honored in God’s sight and loved by him (Isaiah 43:4). In fact, he delights over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17)! One of the things that helps me to remember what is true about me is to listen to worship music or old hymns. Instead of becoming overwhelmed with the lies, God uses the words of the songs to speak truth to my heart and mind.One such song is ‘You Say’ by Lauren Daigle. In it she contrasts what God says about me with what I say about myself. The chorus of the song reminds me: ‘You say I am loved, when I can’t feel a thing You say I am strong when I think I am weak And you say I am held when I am falling short And when I don’t belong, oh you say I am yours’ Are you mired in the lies that you tell yourself? Are you overwhelmed with those thoughts that pull you down? Have you forgotten what God says about you? He wants you to believe the truth that he tells you about yourself so that you can know that not only are you are loved by him, but you belong to him. You are his work of art! Dear Lord Jesus, Thank you that what you say about me is the truest thing about myself. Thank you that I am loved by you and that you give me strength even when I am weak. Help me not to believe the lies that I too often believe, but instead remember what you say about me. Fill my mind with those thoughts today. Amen. Throughout This Day: Listen to this song, You Say, by Lauren Daigle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIaT8Jl2zpI and listen to the words as she sings. Take time to thank God today for the things that he says are true about you – you are loved, you are strong, you belong to him, you are his handiwork, created and loved by him.

Have you noticed that you can only think of one thing at a time? Try counting out loud and think about something at the same time. Counting takes thought, especially if you count by twos or threes. However, something like doing the dishes allows us to think at the same time. While driving a car, we can plot our journey. Our ‘by rote activity’ leaves room for our thoughts to flourish.

Think about 2 Corinthians 10:5 that instructs us to take every thought captive. We don’t do that physically, like an officer handcuffs an offender. We do it through our next thought. Here is an example. I am feeling discouraged because of something that happened. If I string some negative thoughts together, I will continue to dwell in that vein. It becomes like a braid. My discouraging thoughts lead off, and my will and emotions follow. However, if in the moment I feel discouraged, I take my next thought into God’s faithfulness, I have captured the next thought that would have been negative.

Do you understand what I just did? By taking my next thought into God’s nature, I became a partaker. I became one with Who He is. We can do this with every situation that we face. It is essential to be aware of what our thoughts are. Hebrews 5:14 says, “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern between good and evil.”

Matthew 15:19 says, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts…” Whatever we put into our heart feeds our thoughts. When we dwell on influences our thought process. Psalm 37:3 says, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.” We do this though our thoughts.

Jeremiah is a great example for us. He was in a negative downward spiral through his thoughts. Lamentations 3:20 says, “My soul remembers and sinks within me.” He was thinking backwards into his past. Everything reversed when he took his next thought. Verse 21 says, “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.” What did he recall? 

Verse 23-24 says, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” I love 2 Timothy 2:13. It is one of my anchor verses. It says, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” We can go from one faithless thought, right into being a parker of His faithfulness through our next thought.

What we dwell on in our thoughts influences our actions. Here is the progression. Our experiences form the motives behind every thought. Our thoughts precede our actions. Our actions carry an attitude, which forms our habit patterns.

Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” If we walked in this verse, we would have no room in our mind to dwell in the negative.

How do we, who are finite, become one with our Infinite Creator? Jesus prayed for oneness. In John 17:20 Jesus was speaking about His disciples right then, and other believers to come. Verse 21 says, “That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

2 Peter 1:4 says, “By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature…” I don’t use the  word ‘partaker’ in my everyday vocabulary. I only think of it as referenced in Scripture. However, the word ‘share’ is very much a part of my life.

Let me give you an example that helps me better understand how we are one with the Lord. I love to create with food. I then share it with some of my friends that like to make them. My desire is to have them experience my creation with me. Our Creator desires to share His multifaceted nature with us. 

Think about the Lord’s Supper. In 1 Corinthians 11:23 Paul said that he had received instruction from the Lord, about the night He was betrayed. He took bread, verse 24 says, “And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Jesus shared with His disciples. They shared the same bread. 

Too often we allow our circumstances to dictate how we feel. When that is the case, our feelings are always changing. That makes us unstable because we are being double-minded. Yet, when we enter into the steadfast and immovable nature of the Lord, we become grounded in Him. 1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

We share His nature through our thoughts based on Who He is at all times. Therefore, using the above example, our rollercoaster feelings stabilize when we experience the power of His nature. It would be something like this: Lord I am feeling really unstable right now. Thank You that You are Steadfast and Immovable. You are my Rock and my Fortress. I hide in You, because in You I cannot be shaken.

At any moment, during any circumstance, we can immediately enter into His nature. We just acknowledge Him. That instantly takes our focus off us and onto Him. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” As we enter into an aspect of His nature through our thoughts, we share in His image.

The path of obedience is strewn with grace. Disobedience is a desert. Proverbs 13:15 Amplified says, “Good understanding wins favor, but the way of the transgressor is hard (like the barren, dry soil or the impassable swamp).” If one aspect of our life is hard, we need to ask these questions. ‘Where did I get off track?’ ‘What command did I disobey?’

When our way opposes God’s way, He will oppose us. Balaam is a great example. Numbers 22 is the whole narrative. God told Balaam not to go. Balaam went anyway. Verse says, “Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him…” Verse 26 says, “Then the Angel of the Lord…stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.” Verse 32 says, “…I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me.”

James 4:6 says that He resists the proud. In what area of your life do you feel stymied? Proverbs 6:23 Amplified says, “For the commandment is a lamp, and the whole teaching (of the law) is light, and reproofs of discipline are the way of life.” One of the ways the Lord opposes us is through frustration.

Years ago the Holy Spirit gave me a definition of frustration. God intercepting my way to redirect me into His way. That day was redirected many times. I was on my way. An accident ahead stopped traffic, so I missed my appointment. Then my car overheated. Someone gave me a bottle of water and told me to wait for my radiator to cool down. I finally started to go back home to the left, and the Holy Spirit told me to go to the right. It was late so I stopped at a restaurant. As I walked by this table, there were my friends from another country. I didn’t even know that they were in town. The Lord did! He intercepted my way to redirect me into His way.

Reluctance is a fleshly reaction. If I had been reluctant that day, I would have missed what the Lord wanted to accomplish. Procrastination is rooted in a hidden reef of reluctance. What has the Lord called you to do that you have put off? Psalm 86:11 says, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.”

If you are stuck between a rock and a hard place, here are two great verses to use as prayers. Psalm 25:4-5 says, “Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.”  Verse 14 Amplified says, “The secret (of the sweet, satisfying companionship) of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its (deep, inner) meaning.”

One who is living in sin does not worship. Sin covers our heart and blocks any intimate communion with the Lord. Sin is pride, and God stands as an adversary against our sinful way. Sin’s way is a spiritual desert of barrenness. A ready heart is His joy. He lavishes His abundant grace on the humble. It is essential to note which path we are on.

Joshua was the leader of the children of Israel. Yet when he met the Lord as the Commander of the Army of the Lord watch what happened. Joshua 5:14 says, “…And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, What does my Lord say to His servant?” 

Note how there was no hesitation to the Commander’s words. Verse 15 says, “Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua,  Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so.”

It is good to take note of how quick we are to obey God’s commands. Any reluctance on our part reveals a hidden reef. We have forgotten something. 2 Peter 1:5-7 says to add these things to our faith: virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

Verse 8 says that if these things abound in our lives, then we will never be barren nor unfruitful in our knowledge of the Lord. Verse 9 says, “He who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.” Shortsighted, blinded, and deceived are words that describe something like horse blinders. We can only see the temptation that is right in front of us. Hindsight helps us remember that we were cleansed from our sin and therefore dead to it.

Romans 6:11 says, “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin…” Dead things have no response. No matter what the stimuli there is NO response. All stimuli appeal to our flesh. However, when we are dwelling in God’s word, and His word dwells in us, our flesh is starved.

We only fall for satan’s temptations when they entice us through our hidden reefs. Think of it this way. If you go to bed angry, you have a hidden reef. Ephesians 4:26 says, “Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath.” Disobedience is active heart-rebellion.

Numbers 32:23 says, “But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.” Yielding to the temptation reveals the hidden sin. If there was no fleshly longing before you were presented with the temptation, there would be no response to the temptation.

Another example is carrying an offense in our heart. That is a hidden reef. The offended are enticed because they are still holding an earlier offense. The hidden reef has a magnetic power that draws us into the temptation. 2 Peter 1:3 says that we have all things that pertain to life and godliness through our relationship with our Warrior God. That means that His word is His command to obey without hesitation…no hidden reefs.

Are you grounded in your faith? No matter what happens in our lives, we have eternal hope as the anchor of our soul. No matter how things are shaking around us, our life is hidden with Christ in God. He is our Defense, Refuge, Stronghold, Rock, Fortress, and our Deliverer. Our relationship with Him is founded in faith, maintained in faith, and we will cross over the finish line through faith.

Our faith is not in something, but in Someone. Mark 11:22 says to have faith in God. In and of ourselves, we are weak, and absolutely ineffective to fight the wiles of the devil. We have to fight through faith in God’s ability. He is All Powerful. I love to think about this attribute. It means that no one, nor anything has any power. He has it all! When our faith is in Him, we are standing in Him who is Immovable, Unchanging, Unshakeable, and Impenetrable. 

Throughout history, many ships have capsized and sank because they ran into a hidden reef. The unsinkable Titanic sank. Why? It ran into a hidden iceberg. We cannot take our faith for granted. We cannot sail in the troubled waters of sin’s temptations and think we can float by unscathed. 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” 

The stolen waters of sin are sweet in the moment, but it is poison that can destroy your faith. It is good to review how James wrote about the progression of temptations. Anyone can fall prey. It all depends on what we do with the ‘thought’ of the temptation. James 1:14-15 says, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

Verse 16 says, “Do not be deceived…” Hebrews 3:13 says that our hearts can be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. So what do we do? 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves…” Hidden reefs are deceiving. 

Proverbs 2 is a great chapter about wisdom’s protection. Where do we get wisdom that will keep us from hidden sin? We gather it daily, like the children of Israel gathered manna. Jesus used His word to stop the devil’s temptations. Luke 4:4 Amplified says, “…It is written, Man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone but by every word and expression of God.”

Last night I listened to our Sunday night message. I’m quoting my pastor: Faith is the whole body of truth. We demonstrate that we love the Lord through obedience. Paul preached the whole counsel of God. He didn’t leave out anything. When we read God’s word, we need to read it all. As we daily read for understanding, the Holy Spirit will bring conviction to our hidden sin-reefs. We confess them as sin, repent, our fellowship with the Lord is restored, and our faith is strengthened.

In 1 Peter 5:7 Peter instructed his readers to cast all their care upon the Lord. Cares can weigh us down. Mark 4:19 says that the cares of this world will choke out His word so that it becomes unfruitful. Peter went on to remind his readers that satan prowls around to see who is weak in their faith. When God’s word is not active in our heart, we can easily fall prey to satan’s wiles.

Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. What ‘cares’ are weakening your faith? What lies of the enemy have you believed that are controlling you? What unresolved issues restrict your faith? The Lord designs trials that will purify our faith to make it strong and resistant. 

1 Peter 5:9 Amplified says, “Withstand him; be firm in faith (against his onset–rooted, established, strong, immoveable, and determined), knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world.”

Resist means to set against, withstand, and oppose. We do this through our faith. Note again the words in the Amplified: rooted, established, strong, immoveable, and determined. Our shield of faith is an offensive weapon. We need to actively and aggressively counter attack with faith each time a fiery dart is lobbed at us.

First we need to establish truth which will become like an internal sentinel to warn us. It is experiential truth that fuels our faith to be combative. We stand in His truth, wielding it like a sword to cut down every fiery dart before it can land and penetrate. Think of the word combative. We must counter any attack through the truth that is seeded in our hearts.

The Lord is our Defense. Psalm 71:1-3 says, “In You, O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be put to shame. Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; incline Your ear to me, and save me. Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress.”

Psalm 94:22 says, “But the Lord has been my defense, and my God the rock of my refuge.” Deuteronomy 33:27 says, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, and will say, Destroy!”

In order to thwart the devil’s design to devour us, we must continually build up our faith. We cannot be slack in this discipline. There will never be a time on this earth that we are not stalked by the evil one. He has countless workers doing his bidding. He has myriad ways to tempt us so that he can devour us. His design is to shipwreck our faith through hidden sin.