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. - Hebrews 4:13
It isn’t unusual that Hebrews 4:13 should make us a bit nervous, after all, how many of us actually like the idea of someone watching our every thought, word, and deed? Especially if we are going to have to account for ourselves. How often have we been in a social situation and noticed that someone, possibly a complete stranger, is staring at us? Talk about being made self-conscious. But like it or not, that is exactly how God sees us - through and through. We can run but we cannot hide. “Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ So he said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.’” - Genesis 3:9-10.
God is omniscient; He knows all there is to know and nothing is unknown to Him. Even those deepest and darkest secrets we believe we have kept so securely that no one knows - God knows! So yes, when we consider God’s omniscience it becomes uncomfortable for us. For there are some things in our lives that even the most callous of us are ashamed of. We may put on a good show of self-confidence but were the truth brought to light we would cower in shame, fearing the scrutiny of our family, friends, and even that of strangers. “For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. “ - Ephesians 5:12.
In fact, the only reason most of us aren’t more repentant of the things that shame us is because God doesn’t immediately shed light upon our scandalous behavior or immediately hand us the punishment we deserve. Think about it: if God exposed and/or punished us every time we succumbed to temptation, regardless of the variety, we would almost never willfully sin. None of us would want our dirty laundry hung out for everyone to see. But God doesn’t always immediately give us what we truly deserve. It’s not that He has given us a pass; He is just exercising His Godly patience with us sinners. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” - 2 Peter 3:9. He is actually granting us time to come to Him in repentance. If we still refuse to honor Him, Christ has given us His solemn warning - “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.” - Luke 8:17.
So while we understandably fear exposure, discovery, and revelation of our most hidden sins, we must come to the sober realization that the one entity we should truly fear already knows where all the skeletons are buried. To continue to insist upon our “innocence” just exacerbates our sins and clears the way for God’s holy wrath and our undoing. There is a deep sense of despair when we think about it like that but there is hope; hope for the contrite. Let us bring our transgressions to our most holy God and pray for forgiveness in humble repentance. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9.
And how thoroughly will we be forgiven? “The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” - Psalm 103:9-12.
All this forgiveness is assured those who love the Lord. All we need to do is confess our sins to Him and humbly ask His forgiveness and He is ready, willing, and able to shelter us from our past iniquities and remove the stigma of our shame. This was Christ’s purpose in sacrificing Himself upon the cross: the washing away of our sins by His holy blood. And forgiveness is only complete in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. “let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” - Acts 4:10-12.
Let us put our faith in the One who knows all our secrets, both the good and the evil, and let Him take away our sins.
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