What Are You Hiding?: Earl Raue

Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: “Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? Will your idle talk reduce others to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock? You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.’ Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin. Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him? Surely he recognizes deceivers; and when he sees evil, does he not take note?” - Job 11:1-11

So, the book of Job is a story about a man who had everything taken away from him but a handful of friends and his wife. Though he did nothing to deserve the things that had happened, his friends wanted him to confess his sins to God. When Job told his friends that he had no sin that was not already laid bare before God, they did not believe him. This passage talks about how one of Job’s friends tried to convict him of hidden sins. Here we see that Zophar talks about how one can hide their sins from people but not from God. “Surely he recognizes deceivers; and when he sees evil, does he not take note?” (Job 11:11). He speaks of how God knows all things and how there is nothing hidden from Him.  So, if He knows all of our sins, then what are we hiding from Him? Though Zophar had falsely accused his friend, this passage may apply to us more than Job. I know this is something I have not only experienced but struggled with. I thought that if no one knew, then nobody could get hurt, but I was wrong to think this way. King David in his sins explains exactly who we sin against when we try to justify our sins just because no one we see gets hurt. “Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just” (Psalm 51:4). When we sin, even if it seems that no one got hurt, we are sinning against God.

It is important to remember that God is not a place without emotions or just some temple that we go to to feel better. He has more emotions than anyone, and so He hurts like no one else when we sin. So, it's not so much about our integrity, but rather our love for God. Do we realize how bad it must feel for God to watch us disobey Him and get hurt in the process? He cares so much about us that He not only died for our sins but will welcome us with open arms every time we come back. Though our sins can be hidden from people, God will always see them. But we can always have hope of forgiveness through Jesus.  “Come now, and let us reason together,” said the Lord. “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). God in His infinite wisdom, knowledge, and Love sees it as just for Jesus to have taken our blame and will see us as not only free from sin but free to live our lives with God. So, we all need to ask ourselves this question: what sins are we trying to hide from God? We all know that He knows what we did, so why not go back to Him? He is waiting on the front porch of Heaven, to welcome us with a Love so great and so strong that nothing could ever separate us from it. So why not go back to Him? He waits with open arms. 

Earl is a delightful and willing servant of The Wesley community. He is currently a freshman English major at Louisiana Tech. Earl enjoys hanging out and playing games with friends, singing along to worship songs on the radio, and displaying his yo-yo skills. Say hi to him if you see him around!