I realised that my mind and heart would always condemn me whenever I wanted to be brutally honest with God. I felt condemned whenever I wanted to scream and let God know that I didn’t necessarily agree with Him on certain things. Until one day God said to me, “I am not afraid of or offended by your honesty.” Those words had love and comfort in them. They were the keys that opened the door to a deep intimate relationship with God.
My honesty with God brought me closer to Him. It created a space for me to get to know His heart better—and in a very weird way, for God to get to know me better. Yes, He already knows everything about me. He already knows every detail of my life, because He is God and He doesn’t miss a thing. But think of it like meeting a friend for the very first time. Sometimes we worry about fully opening up to God because we think he’ll get mad at us, or we’re mad at him but we think we shouldn’t be so we try to steer clear of discussing our “stuff” with Him. God can handle your honesty. You can be achingly honest about everything that goes on in your life.
God does not expect us to remain stoic when our hearts are rent. He does not want us to pretend with Him, because nothing is hidden from His sight. We are not asked to put our masks back on so we don’t embarrass Him with our suffering. We are not better Christians when we call the hardest parts of life “good.” But we can learn to call God good in the hardest parts of our lives—just like David (Read Psalm 13).
Do you know what crying out to God in your distress says? It says “you belong to me, and I belong to you and will enter in with you. It is Ruth linking arms with Naomi and vowing, “Your God will be my God and we’ll make the journey home together.” Jesus knew what it was to see people; to lock eyes on our desperation, to not turn from our sorrow, our despair, or our weakness.
Beloved, be like Mary and Martha. Mary fell at Jesus’ feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” And when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied… and Jesus wept (Read John 11:1-35).
Lay all your accusations at Jesus’ feet. Ask Him all the hard questions. Open up your heart before Him and let Him know what’s up. If you hide what you feel, how then will you be able to deal with it? Christ died to tear the veil separating heaven and earth — to open the way for us to approach Him without fear. So be not afraid of being honest.
Question: Are you afraid of being honest with God? Why do you think that is? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Angelisa is a Jesus enthusiast, Worship leader & Christian youth leader. She considers herself to be the old-fashioned type of girl who loves spicy food and belly bottom laughter. Among her passions are singing, working with children, and encouraging others.
Amoy is intent on fulfilling God’s will and purpose for her life. She is a celebrity publicist, a proud Jamaican, a writer, an international speaker, a media practitioner and a published author. She loves all things luxury and is on a mission to become one of the wealthiest women from her island and in the world. 40 under 40, is that you?