Knowing and Being Known

It all started the morning of February 26 with Psalm 44:21, For he knows the secrets of the heart. That truth just cut me up. It ached. And the onslaught continued for many mornings afterward because of the living and active Sword "which pierces the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12) :

Romans 2:26b, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
Matthew 23:26, "First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean."
Psalm 69:5, O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
Mark 4:22, "For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light."
1 Corinthians 10:12, Therefore, let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
Psalm 90:8, You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

Over these past months, these passages have provoked both intense pain AND incredible joy my soul because I've been reminded my God knows me THAT well. It has been a true realization to me as I've had shown to me some sins of selfishness I'd been harboring for a while and maybe didn't even realize it ("secret sin" can be that which is intentionally hidden and that which is unintentional, but it's all still sin).

So I've been on a road to being obedient in admitting these to God, myself, as well as brothers and sisters from whom it is right to seek forgiveness. In much the same way as mentioned above, it stings AND relieves to know I have those people in my life who know me well enough (in some cases, better than I know myself) to call me out when I'm being a jerk or worse. Jenny is one. Greg is another. Man, they call me on the carpet and they're usually spot on.

If you feel there is a disconnect with the Lord, you need to check your end by asking Him to reveal to you any unconfessed intentional or unintentional sin. Go to the Bible (perhaps a few of the above passages) asking Him to use the Word to convict you. It's uncomfortable, but growth and change always are. When that sin is revealed confess it to Him (use Psalm 51), knowing that when "we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and PURIFY us from ALL unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Ahh. It doesn't get more refreshing than that!

Pray for people to hold you to an unwavering biblical standard. We all long to know others deeply and be known ourselves. The Lord Jesus Christ does this for us. He gave us a letter in the Bible that can read our thoughts and intentions backward and forward, revealing our very hearts. He's placed the ability in godly men and women to apply that Word to do the same. Even David, the "man after God's own heart," was called out of his sin with Bathsheba by God's man, Nathan.

Thank God for His correction through His Word and His children! May you be blessed by His knowing your inmost feelings and intentions yet still loving you. May God place great men and women in your life by whom you can be known and know in return.