Thursday thoughts: Thankfully, God knows all our secrets

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Wayne and I went to vote last Friday. We had our "I voted" stickers on when our granddaughters came in from school. Our 11-year-old immediately noticed and asked who we voted for. Of course, Wayne would not tell her because he said that it was private. She asked me and I said the same thing. She asked several more times and received the same answer from both of us. Finally, she said, "I'll tell you how much I weigh if you tell me who you voted for."

 It didn't change our decision, but we had to laugh. I am sure she has picked up that weight (especially for women) is not something that we all want to talk about or share. Her thinking was, "If I tell them something 'secret' then maybe they will tell me their 'secret.'" I have told several people this story and we always have a laugh about it.

I was thinking about this on my way to work this morning and I thought about how there are no secrets with God. I am extremely grateful and thankful for this, but it can be convicting as well. God knows me so well. He knows what I am thinking, what I am doing, and what I am going to do. He knows me better than I even know myself.

The comforting thing about God knowing my secrets is that they are safe with Him. He can know my thoughts and it doesn't change His love for me. He can see my motives and it doesn't change how much He cares for me. I can have a bad day and it doesn't change how He feels about me. He knows I am a sinner, yet he loves me just the same.

I'm not saying that my thoughts, motives, or attitude don't matter to God and I am free to do as I please. That's not it at all. I am saying I mess up. We all mess up. The amazing thing is that we have a loving God that will forgive us even when we mess up. We are not perfect, but He is.

The truth is that God's love is not dependent on who I am but on WHO HE IS. His love for me will not change. There is a scripture in Psalms 139 that says, "O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I'm far away." He knows everything about me AND about you. I cannot even comprehend this. There is a verse a little farther down in Psalms 139 that talks about all the things God knows. It is from the words of David and he says, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand." EXACTLY.

Realizing God knows everything about me and still loves me just boggles my mind. But I am oh so grateful for a God who loves me and stays with me even when I don't deserve it. Another reason I am grateful and comforted by God knowing my secrets is because He also knows my secret struggles and difficulties. We have dealt with many secret struggles over the years. There is security in knowing that God knows them. If I share my secret struggles with you, I might feel temporarily relieved and also very grateful for your prayers. However, I also face the reality that you knowing my struggles cannot bring me lasting safety or comfort. Only God can do that. Since He knows all things, He can also provide all things. Placing those secret struggles in His hands is the hardest thing for me to do but trusting Him alone for the answers is the safest place to be.

We as a family are looking at some life changes. There are a good many unknowns. Is it scary? YES! Will there be struggles? I'm sure there will be. The truth is I am sure that God knows my inner secret struggles. Every time I start to try to work things out in my mind God will remind me that I am limited in my knowledge of the future, but He isn't. He knows all the secrets and I just have to be obedient to trust Him in the middle of all my unknowns.

I might be able to hide my struggles and feelings from those around me, but God knows them all. There is great security in this as long as I place my trust in Him and not in my situation. He is the only One who can keep count of each hair on my head, the number of days in my life, and, yes, He even knows my weight. All those secrets are safe with Him.

I'm going to trust Him with all my secrets knowing His love for me is too great and vast to try and understand. Our job is to share the TRUTH of that love with others. That is one secret the world needs to know, and He wants all of us to share. Like the old song says "It is no secret what God can do. What He has done for others, He'll do for you." Romans 10:14 says, "How can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?"

We are the ones who can make this truth known and not a secret. Believe me when I say I won't share my weight with you, who I might have voted for, or my secret struggles. I will happily share everything I know about the only ONE who knows my secrets and still loves me completely!

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Jill Johnson, a staff member at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother and Georgian. She is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.