Hebrews 4:12-13, “12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 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.
We are Masters of Cover-Up! Let me explain what I mean.
The industry is a $528.6 billion worldwide industry.
From make-up (to cover acne, wrinkles, and disfigurements); to hair (wigs, weaves, braids, hats, wraps, scarves); to body distortions (girdles, control tops, trainers, taupes, lotions, beard conditioners,!
We have Mastered How to cover up what we consider our “flaws, shortcomings, and imperfections.”
If you think about it, everywhere you look now you see guys that are wearing baseball caps. But more than ever before, you see more girls and even women wearing them now than they ever did before!
And ironically enough, more often than not, the caps don’t have anything to do with baseball! A friend of mine, is a college professor, even wants to ban baseball caps in the classroom!
In honesty, from school to church, to everyday life, you’ve got more and more people wearing caps.
I will wear them from time to time but I don't like them.
My youngest daughter Audry years ago, actually wore more baseball caps than I’ve ever seen my sons wear. She had them in all shapes, sizes, colors. It drove me nuts! Finally, I got fed up with seeing her every day, all day in the caps. So I decided to ask her what was up with her and wearing the baseball caps. Her simple response?
You guessed it, “Bad hair day, dad!”
If we are to be completely honest, there are those days when we simply don’t have time to wash our hair or get it to look just right, so what do we do? We cover it up, and some of us with a hat! But when it’s time to come to God, cover-up is never a good idea.
I am going to confess something!
There are times when I enter my prayer closet with God, and the truth is, I wasn’t on my best behavior throughout the day.
So, talking to God in the evening becomes a more eloquent speech.
I ask Him to bless all those who are in lack and need.
To be there for those in the hospitals,
nursing homes,
jails,
homeless shelters,
soup kitchens,
rehab, etc.
I ask Him to provide for those who are without. And all that sounds good. But truthfully, it’s just a mask because I don’t want to discuss my bad habits, bad judgments, bad decisions, and choices that were made throughout the day, some accidental, and some deliberate.
There are times when my prayers are more flattery of speech than true, heartfelt sincerity.
Lord, thank You for the roof over my head, the clothes on my back, my job, and family. You’ve been such a great provider, an awesome comforter, a timely counselor…
And again, all of that sounds good.
But I’m still keeping myself “covered up.”
This made me think ofHebrews 4:12. It says,
“For the Word of God is alive and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword,
it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.
EVERYTHING IS UNCOVERED AND LAID BARE BEFORE THE EYES OF HIM TO WHOM WE MUST GIVE ACCOUNT” (NIV).”
In other words, “HATS OFF!”
No matter how bad it is, eventually, at some point, if it is to get any better, you’ve got to remove what’s covering it and fix it!
Likewise, no matter how bad your
attitude,
habits,
addictions,
decisions,
and choices have been, you can’t keep covering them, at some point you have to uncover them so that they can be fixed!
If you think about it, who are we to think that we can hide, mask, masquerade, shield, pretend, or cover up before the One Whom the Bible says, “…
EVERYTHING IS UNCOVERED AND LAID BARE BEFORE THE EYES OF HIM TO WHOM WE MUST GIVE ACCOUNT”!
Believe it or not, but even with your baseball cap on to cover up your bad hair, you do realize that the One Who has numbered the hairs of your head, still sees it all right?
Take a look at a few translations of Matthew 10:30:
“But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered [for the Father is sovereign and has complete knowledge].” (AMP);
“Even the hairs of your head are all counted.” (CEB);
“God even knows how many hairs are on your head.” (ERV);
“Every hair on your head has been counted.” (GWT);
“…He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail – even numbering the hairs on your head!…” (MSG)
What I love most about this Scripture translation is the word “Numbered”, it’s defined as “to assign a specific number to or mark with a number”. That means that every strand of hair on your head has its’ own specifically assigned number.
Look at it like this, many of us use a comb daily. Some hair comes out over time. Do you know that God can look at that hair and tell you the specially assigned numbers of each strand?!
How crazy is that?!
He can tell you that hair numbers 4, 39, 1,102, 333, and 972, are the numbers specifically in that comb!
And what’s even crazier than that is most of us have shared our hair brushes and combs, either with a spouse or children.
And do you know that God can differentiate each person’s hair and the numbers that were assigned to each!?
I know, insane! So, where am I going with this?
YOU CANNOT HIDE, MASK OR COVER UP WITH GOD NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY!
If He knows the specific numbers of each of your hair strands, surely He knows what you did last night, where, with whom, why, and how many times.
Please understand, that you can hide from the world, but you can’t hide your bad habits from God!
“God means what He says.
What He says goes.
His powerful Word is as sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through EVERYTHING, whether doubt or defense, laying us OPEN to listen and obey.
Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.”
I love the word “impervious”, it’s defined as “unable to be affected by”.
So, you may as well come clean and come uncovered because you can't be a believer, and yet go unaffected by the Word of God!
There is nothing you can do to Shield yourself from an All-Seeing God, just ask Hagar!
Genesis 16:13, “Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”.
Or ask David, Psalm 139:7-12, “7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall[fn] on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You”
HOW DO YOU ATTEMPT TO HIDE FROM A GOD WHERE NOTHING CAN BE HIDDEN FROM HIM?
You see, what we’ve managed to cover up from everyone else, God sees. The covering comes off when you pray…or it ought to.
But we tend to get all dressed up for God, and we come to Him with this fluffy prayer language. We talk to Him about religious stuff.
But real prayer begins when you come into God’s presence with the real you; the one who isn’t together like everybody else thinks you are, the one who’s struggling and honest about it, the one who’s hurting, the one who’s doubting, or the one who’s grieving, the one who’s sinning.
Maybe you’re falling. Maybe you’re giving out or maybe even giving up. If any of that describes you, you need to go to God Uncovered in prayer, not Masked in Pretense!
Matthew 6:2-4, “ 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.;
“The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God.
Don’t fall for that nonsense.
This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.
Like this: Matthew 6:9-13,
9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Prayer is never to be a performance. The prayer closet is not a stage and you need no longer be a play-actor.
Come to God as you are so He can change you into what you should be. You’ll never find yourself in a better place if you keep hiding yourself in your last bad place.
Genesis 3:8-10, “8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
Adam sounds a lot like me in prayer.
I know what I’ve done.
I know how bad my motives and intentions were.
I know I had no business being there, doing that, being with them, etc…
I knew the mistakes and deliberate bad decisions I made throughout the day.
You can hide from other people, but you can never hide from yourself. So going into prayer, I knew exactly who and what I was taking into prayer.
And even though I know God sees all things, for some reason, I didn’t want to think that He saw “those” things. And so the performance in prayer comes.
For some of you, you’re in the same position as me and Adam. You realize you messed up and so you immediately go into self-preservation mode (cover-up and hide)!
But just as God knew where I was and knew where Adam was, He also knows where you are.
And that’s something to take comfort in, not hide from.
I always find it amazing that when we mess up, the first person we want to hide from is God.
“…the Man and his Wife HID in the trees of the garden, HID from God…”
That makes as much sense as
having a toothache but hiding from the Dentist;
having a stroke but hiding from the Doctor;
having car trouble but hiding from the Mechanic;
drowning but hiding from the Lifeguard.
In other words, when you’re hurt you don’t hide from the Healer.
So, whether it’s drugs,
alcohol,
fornication,
adultery,
lying,
cheating,
stealing,
depression,
suicidal,
lonely,
empty,
confused,
desperate,
take it all to God… Uncovered…after all there is Nothing He Does Not See!
See, the first reason to come to God honestly is this: God already knows! That’s what this says, “ALL THINGS are uncovered and laid bare.”
There’s no point in coming to impress God. You come, not as you ought to be, but as you are!
we’ve got a second reason we can come honestly to God.
Hebrews chapter 4:15
“We do not have a high priest who’s unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way just as we are yet without sin.”
The Amplified Bible says it like this, “For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [KNOWING EXACTLY HOW IT FEELS TO BE HUMAN] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin.”
When we go to Jesus, we’re going to someone with issues they can relate to.
No, Jesus didn’t sin, but how comforting to know that he sympathizes with our weaknesses;
He’s been tempted in every way; He understands; and He knows exactly what it feels like to simply be human.
The Son of God Himself, as sinless as He is, can relate to us mere humans.
You should be encouraged today to go to God just as you are.
Why? Because He doesn’t need your façade, your baseball cap.
He already knows. He’s already seen.
You don’t have to “fix it up” for Him.
You don’t have to style it or spray perfume or cologne on it. You don’t have to dress it up. You don’t have to give it all the right words. You don’t have to perform. You don’t have to be perfect.
You don’t have to worry about your appearance.
He wants you…as is!
All you have to do is go to Him Uncovered just one time, and empty out.
You’ll be amazed at how easy it becomes to continue to do so.
He’s easy to talk to because He understands.
God understands…
You’re talking to the Jesus who’s been there.
He’s been hurt,
He’s been lonely,
exhausted,
and criticized.
Jesus was abandoned,
slandered,
tempted,
betrayed,
He was beaten,
He was stabbed in the side.
We can come uncovered to the Lord because He’s walked this road.
God gives us someone who laughs with us, who struggles with us, and who cries with us.
And there’s one more reason to come honestly.
God responds to it!
Verse 16 says, “Let us then approach the Throne of Grace with confidence that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
No condemnation; just understanding.
God sends two supernatural resources in response to our honest sharing; mercy and grace aimed right at the honest need you just poured out to Him.
But God doesn’t impose himself. He only comes by invitation.
You’ll only know the empowerment of God’s grace in an area that you have opened up to Him.
Remember, bring the real you to God.
Like the hymn says, “Just as I am without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me.”
The “you” that has been hidden from everyone else is the “you” God wants. He wants to carry and He wants to heal that person.
He wants you to stop hiding,
stop shielding,
stop masking,
and stop covering.
A bad hair day is one thing; it’s the bad heart days that Jesus is concerned about.
And when you pray, uncover what’s there, He’s the master who can fix anything!
1 Samuel 16:7, “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees;[fn] for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Today, expose your heart issues to God so He can heal you.
If the heart issues were natural, no one could beat you running to the cardiologist!
So, treat your spiritual heart issues with the same urgency!
Let no one beat you in running to God!
Take uncovered you,
run-down,
tired,
frustrated you, straight to God.
You’ve been in hiding long enough, it’s time to come out and receive the help, healing, and wholeness that He is so desperately desiring to give you!
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