We’re talking about secrets today. A secret is something hidden or concealed; something unknown to others.
Not all secrets are bad. You might be keeping a confidence regarding something private that someone told you. And that’s good.
But often our secrets are things that we’re trying to hide, because we don’t want anyone to know – because it won’t reflect well on us.
I remember, when I was a kid, my father was an artist and even though he didn’t go to church, my mother’s parents’ church asked him to paint a rather large mural as a background for their baptismal.
Well, my father had a studio in our house and when he was working on this, he let me mess around some with a paint brush. I think it was painting little birds flying in the air. Something really simple. Anyway, he ended up starting over completely.
But I told my grandfather that I helped paint a part of the mural and played it up, even though what I did was covered over. So every time I came to church there my grandfather would ask me, “now which part did you paint?” And I felt bad. I hadn’t painting anything on the picture he was looking at. But I had to keep it a secret because of what I said before.
Now, of course, I know that he knew my secret and was just messing with me . But I didn’t want him to know the truth, which meant I had to keep lying so I didn’t look bad.
A really good secret is one that no one knows about, right? Not like in my case. For instance when you:
- gossip about someone – you look around and don’t see anyone else, so you think, “Hey, no one knows. I’m all good.”
- cheat on a test to get a better grade or fill out tax forms wrong to save some money – you think, “No one saw me, so it’s OK.”
- look at pornography in a magazine or online – you think, “No one’s home, so I’m safe.”
But my point today is that this isn’t true. And that’s because –
God is everywhere
– whether we are aware of his presence or not. Jeremiah 23:24 says, “’Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord.”
Now this doesn’t mean that God is in relationship with everyone. Or to say it another way, that everyone is conscious of God’s presence. Most are not. To be in relationship with God is to experience a whole different level of God’s presence. But apart from this relationship, God is still present everywhere in a more general way.
And since God is everywhere –
God knows everything we do
Let me highlight several Scriptures to bring this truth home. In Psalm 139:7-8 the psalmist begins by asking, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” He can go to the highest place in all creation or the lowest place, the realm of the dead – and God is still there.
And as he says in v. 2 – “You know when I sit down and when I rise up.” God knows everything we do, even as little a thing as sitting down and then standing up. God takes note!
Psalm 33:13-15 says, “The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he . . . observes all their deeds.” Notice all the “alls.” God sees everyone and everything they do.
Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” God watches all that we do, both good and bad.
But not only this –
God knows everything we think
1 Chronicles 28:9 says, “The Lord searches all hearts.” In Luke 16:15 Jesus said, “God knows your hearts.” Psalm 44:21 takes it a step further and tells us that God “knows the secrets of the heart.”
And this leads me to my point this morning –
There is no hiding from God
God knows everything we do and everything we think. Hebrews 4:13 says, “No creature is hidden from God’s sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Here we see that God not only knows everything; we are naked and exposed before him – but we will have to give an account for everything we do and think – even those things that we think are our ‘little secrets.’
As Ecclesiastes 12:14 says, “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
You can hide a secret from others. You can even bury them so deep that you hide them from yourself. But you can’t hide your secret from God. God knows them all.
As a side note here, on the final day everyone will know all our secrets. God knows everything already, but at the judgment everyone will. 1 Timothy 5:24 says, “The sins of some men are conspicuous (e.g. obvious or well known) going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later (that is at the time of judgment.)” As Jesus said in Luke 12:2-3, “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.” There will no longer be any secrets.
Given that God is everywhere and knows all that we do and think –
We need to be more careful about what we say and do!
Think about in school, when the teacher is out of the room. Kids get loud and say and do things they normally wouldn’t. But when the teacher comes back it gets quiet. And I also know from my own experience being a pastor that when I come around, at times the conversation stops or changes.
Well, what we have to learn is that even when no one else can see what you are doing or hear what you are thinking – God is right next to you looking at what you are doing and hearing what you are thinking. It’s like the teacher is in the room or the pastor is, but it is much more than this. God is in the room.
And have you ever said something that was supposed to be a secret but someone else heard? Isn’t it a terrible feeling? Well why don’t we have that feeling, knowing that God is hearing us? Is it because we don’t believe that God is listening?
If you do believe this truth, then before you:
- gossip about someone – you don’t, because you realize God is right there listening.
- cheat – you stop, because you remember God is right next to you watching.
- look at pornography – you recognize that God is there and so you remember to do what’s right.
Finally, a word of encouragement concerning God’s presence. It’s not all about God watching and us being accountable. The truth that God is everywhere means that –
God is also near to help us
– in our moments of temptation and struggle. Especially those of us who have a relationship with God.
2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the entire earth, to strengthen those whose heart is true to him.” The one who has all power, the source of all encouragement, the one who has everything that we need to overcome – is present and willing to help. God is looking to strengthen us to do what is right.
So we need to call on God for help.
- What if you were trying to cut down a large tree with an old ax, and a logger was standing next to you with a new chain saw the whole time? Does this make any sense?
- Or what if you were struggling to dig a trench, and a friend with a backhoe was sitting there the whole time. Does this make any sense?
In the same way it doesn’t make sense to ignore that God is right next to you all the time ready to help and to encourage. Call on God. He has what you need to make the right choices.
William Higgins
Christian teaching 