by Tim Howard
On this second day of the New Year I pray for God
to bless your life in 2016 and continue to help, guide and reveal His wisdom –
in practical ways.
One such piece of wisdom God spoke to me through a
friend – years ago, was this: ‘Live Out Loud!” Don’t conceal things but reveal
them. Don’t keep secrets because the results can be devastating.
When I was in grammar school my sisters found it
amusing to speak with each other in some unknown language. I later learned it
was called Pig Latin, which is a language game of alterations played in
English. It was their way of keeping secrets from me. They were so frustrating!
The Bible talks about both good and bad secrets. Sort
of like a good cholesterol and a bad cholesterol. A good secret is
something positive you do and wonder if anyone notices. Jesus alluded to this
type in Matthew chapter 6 when He talked about some religious people who liked
doing things for human recognition. He explains the value of not emulating this
approach to good works then clearly states: Every good secret will be rewarded.
Bad secrets, however, are things you want no one to
discover. When dark secrets are allowed to lurk in the back of your soul, in
the shadows of your mind and outside the view of others – they will eventually
consume you and have debilitating effects.
David, the second King of Israel is a good example
of why we shouldn’t keep bad secrets.
He was a great man but he had a weakness for women.
He committed adultery with a woman name Bathsheba and after discovering she was
pregnant with their child, he tried to cover his tracks.
His secret led to murder, then chaos and ultimately
the death of this child. David thought his secret
was safe but soon learned 4 lessons.
Lesson 1: You can’t hide from
God! David might have kept his secret from everyone else — but he didn’t fool
God. God knew! God always knows!
In reality there are no secrets with God – so stop
fooling yourself by thinking you can hide. Decide to ‘Live Out Loud.”
Lesson 2: Your secrets will be
revealed. Luke 12:1-3 makes this abundantly clear. We all know about David. It
is no secret to anyone who has read the Bible! He should have ‘Live Out
loud’
Lesson 3. Bad secrets, when kept
inside, cost dearly. Listen to how David puts it: Psalms 32:3-4 “When I
refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable; I groaned all day long.
Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated
like water in the summer heat.” Bad secrets grow in power when we refuse to
confess and ‘Live Out Loud.”
Lesson 4. Living in the light
brings the greatest dividends of all. When
a man named Nathan confronted David about his secret sin, he finally came clean
and exposed the evil that lurked inside. He chose to ‘Live Out Loud’ and the result
was Forgiveness! And Freedom!
As you live out 2016, I encouraged you to walk in
the light! Let no evil live inside! Join me and together let’s: ‘Live Out
Loud.”
