Secrets Revealed

"For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open."  (NIV)  Luke 8:17

Secrets can be fun - when you know a secret of something good that is going to happen to someone and you know the joy that the person will receive when the secret is revealed.  It's fun waiting for the element of surprise, and all the happiness that will be shared once the secret is revealed.  I think of special gifts that produced such happiness after the surprise was shared.  These secrets put a smile on my face and the moment the secret was revealed is now was treasured.

There are also other secrets - secrets that are not as "wonderful", secrets that are not as "joyous", secrets that are filled with shame or disgrace.  I have had them and I'm sure others out there have had them as well.  Those type of secrets are difficult to live with.  The "fun" secrets have a sense of anticipation.  The "shameful" secrets have a sense of anxiousness.  What if someone finds out?  What if when someone finds out they won't like (or love) me anymore?  What if a friend doesn't talk to me anymore?  Secrets are difficult to live with.

I have taken the plunge, on occasion, to release a secret - to tell a secret that I have harbored to another.  It was a risk, a huge risk.  There was so much emotion that went into that decision. All the "what ifs" that were listed above (and then some) overwhelmed my days.  I went back and forth, should I share or shouldn't I share?  It literally kept me up at night and consumed my days.  When the guilt and the indecisiveness weighed so heavily on my shoulders, I went to the one that knows all of my secrets - I went to Jesus.  I asked HIM what I should do.  I asked HIM what the outcome would be.  I asked HIM to give me a sign of what to expect.  Ultimately, I turned to Simple Faith.  I had to believe that if God was putting this so much on my heart, that it was on my heart for a reason.  I shared the secret.  

I am happy to report that the person I shared the secret with still talks to me, still loves me.  I stepped out in faith and, as always, Jesus caught me.  He provided a soft landing for my secret.  He provided grace and mercy to be shared with me by another.  I wish I can say that every secret revealed had that pillow-soft landing, but it hasn't.  Those that didn't land well, I have learned from.  Not that I shouldn't share, but that I should take better actions and make better decisions up front.  

I learned more than that.  My greatest learning came from the verse above.  Our Dear Lord knows all - all of our triumphs and failures.  He knows our strengths and our weaknesses.  He knows our good and our bad.  He knows it all.  When the weight of secrets that are hidden is too much, HE is the one to turn to.  As I read that verse, I realize that secrets are revealed.  Some of the revealing produces wonderful results.  Sometimes the revealing produces heartache.  When secrets are brought into the open, light shines down on them.  That which is concealed, is revealed.  That which is revealed, is lifted from our shoulders.  Secrets could be fears, actions, sins, etc.  When secrets are revealed, they become truth.

We all have secrets - some that we have been hiding from many years.  I'm not asking you to go out into the town hall, stand on a pedestal and shout from the mountain tops.  I'm asking you to go to the one who knows all your secrets, who knows all your fears, and talk to HIM.  Ask HIM what you should do.  Have the simple faith He wants us to have - in all aspects of our lives - including our secrets.

"Dearest Jesus, thank you for knowing all my secrets, the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Thank you for loving me no matter what my secrets may be.  As I may make decisions to reveal secrets, help me to have simple faith that grace and mercy will persevere.  Help me to release the weight that may be on my shoulders and bring light into darkness.  Thank you, Jesus, for always showing me love."

P.S. - I want to personally thank everyone who continuously reads my blog on a regular basis.  Today marks the 3rd anniversary that I have been writing - every week.  Three years ago I averaged about 5-10 readers (mostly close family and friends).  Now Simple Faith Today logs almost 120 readers a week, from all over the country.  Thank you to those who share the link with others.  Thank you to so many who write back to me and share what a certain message has meant to them.  Many have asked if I plan to write a book.  Secret Revealed?  I believe that the book is the true calling God has put on my heart.  I have many fears, many moments of anxiousness about writing a book.  I continue to pray that God will give me the right time and the right words that He wants me to share.  Until then, I plan on continuing with this blog.  Many thanks to all of you!!