The Safety of Being Fully Seen

 

The Safety of Being Fully Seen

Scripture Reading (NLT)

The Diagnosis

Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NLT)

"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve."

Hebrews 4:13 (NLT)

"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable."

The Request

Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life."

Psalm 26:2 (NLT)

"Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart."

Psalm 19:12-14 (NLT)

"How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults... May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer."

The Cure and Comfort

Psalm 51:10 (NLT)

"Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me."

Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything... Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand."

1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you."

There is a profound difference between being exposed and being known.

Exposure leaves us feeling vulnerable, ashamed, and defensive. Being known by someone who loves us completely brings peace, safety, and healing.

Too often we approach God wearing a spiritual mask. We smile, serve, worship, and even encourage others while quietly burying our fears, our hidden struggles, our hurts, and the sins we hope no one notices. Jeremiah explains why this happens. Our hearts can deceive us. Sometimes we don't even recognize our own motives until God lovingly reveals them.

The Hebrew word for "heart" in Jeremiah 17 is leb (לֵב). It refers not only to our emotions but to the very center of our thoughts, desires, decisions, and will. God isn't simply looking at our feelings—He searches the deepest places where every choice begins.

Yet our hiding is only an illusion.

Hebrews reminds us that nothing is hidden from God's sight. Every wound, every fear, every anxious thought, every disappointment, every secret tear has already been seen by our Heavenly Father.

The beautiful truth is this: God never reveals our hearts to shame us. He reveals them to heal us.

That realization has changed my own walk with Christ.

As I look back over my life, I realize there were seasons when I carried hurts I thought I had buried forever. There were wounds from my past, disappointments, fears about our future, concerns for Ross's health, and worries that quietly settled into my heart. Yet every time I surrendered them to Jesus instead of hiding them, He faithfully met me there.

Serving in our church, loving our community, helping at the food cupboard, encouraging children, ringing bells in worship, writing these daily devotions, and simply walking beside people who are hurting have taught me something beautiful. We do not serve because we have perfect hearts. We serve because Jesus continues to transform imperfect hearts.

Every day He lovingly searches me, gently corrects me, forgives me, and reminds me that His grace is greater than my failures. The closer I grow to Him, the safer it feels to be completely honest with Him.

David understood this kind of relationship when he prayed,

"Search me, O God, and know my heart."

The Hebrew word ḥāqar (חָקַר) means to search thoroughly, to examine deeply, to investigate completely. David wasn't asking God for a quick glance. He was inviting Him to perform a complete examination of every hidden corner of his life.

That takes courage.

It also takes trust.

David continues, "Test me and know my anxious thoughts."

The Greek word translated "anxious" in Philippians 4 comes from merimna (μέριμνα), meaning cares, worries, distractions that divide the mind. Anxiety literally pulls our hearts in different directions. God's desire is not to condemn us for those worries but to gather our scattered hearts back into His loving hands.

This is not a prayer asking for punishment.

It is a prayer asking for rescue.

When God uncovers a hidden fault or exposes a bitter root, we don't have to run away in shame. Instead, we run toward His mercy.

Like David, we pray,

"Create in me a clean heart, O God."

The Hebrew word bara (בָּרָא) translated "create" is the very same word used in Genesis when God created the heavens and the earth. It describes something only God can do. We cannot manufacture a clean heart through willpower. Only our Creator can make something completely new within us.

And what about those anxious thoughts He uncovers?

He never exposes them so we can carry them longer.

He reveals them so we can release them.

Peter tells us to cast every care upon Him because He cares for us. Paul reminds us to pray instead of panic. Every burden we surrender becomes another opportunity to experience the peace that only Jesus can give.

That peace doesn't always remove the storm.

It guards us while we walk through it.

Today, step out of the darkness of hiding.

Allow yourself to be fully seen by the One who already knows everything about you and loves you anyway. His love is never based on your perfection. It is rooted in His grace. Let Him search your heart, cleanse what needs cleansing, strengthen what has grown weak, calm every anxious thought, and lead you in His everlasting way.

There is no safer place to be than fully known by Jesus.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for loving me completely. Thank You that I never have to pretend when I come before You. You already know every joy, every fear, every hidden wound, every anxious thought, and every secret struggle. Yet You still call me Your child.

Lord, search my heart today. Reveal anything that is not pleasing to You. Remove pride, bitterness, fear, unforgiveness, and anything else that keeps me from walking closely with You. Create in me a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Help me to trust that Your correction is always motivated by love and that Your grace is always greater than my failures. Teach me to surrender every burden instead of carrying it myself. Fill my heart with the peace that only You can give.

Use my life to encourage others to know that no one is beyond Your mercy and that every heart surrendered to You can be made new.

Thank You for walking beside Ross and me through every season. Thank You for allowing us to serve You with grateful hearts. May everything we do bring honor and glory to Your precious name.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

The Lord's Prayer (KJV)

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive our trespassers. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

BELIEVE. OBEY. BE BLESSED.

AMEN. BOBBA ❤️ 

Love, Penny 💛