Caught Off Guard

Right before getting ready to leave for our holidays, we received an email that our flights had been cancelled. Aargh! My initial response included anger, frustration, and some anxiety. I’m not proud of how I reacted. Thankfully it did not take long for the Lord to help me back on track. Yet I cannot deny the reality of my first responses.

C.S. Lewis shared the illustration of rats living in a basement. If we make lots of noise coming down, they will probably scatter before we have a chance to see them. But if we were to sneak down there and suddenly switch on the light, we would see the vermin scatter before they hide away.

So, it is with us. To the world around us we tend to present a sanitised version of ourselves. I don’t think that’s totally wrong. But when something unexpected happens, light gets shed on who we truly are, and it’s not all perfectly holy and good. These unplanned, unpleasant surprises tend to shed light on the darker areas of our hearts, those places we have tried so hard to cover up and hide.

I think these moments can be used by the Lord to give us a reality check. I don’t believe God expects to find perfection in us. I do believe He wants us to be totally honest with Him. So instead of covering up our errors, we have a new opportunity to come to Him as we are and receive grace. When we confess our sin, He forgives us. What’s more, He seeks to restore us and help us be more like Him.

I am captivated by the passage in 1 John 3 which tells us that we will one day see Jesus face-to-face and finally become as He is. And it says that ‘everyone who has this hope Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.’ I don’t really love being confronted with the ugliness of my sinful heart. But I do appreciate the opportunity to allow the Lord to cleanse me and change me, in anticipation of that wonderful moment when I will be with Him.

The battle against hidden sins can be a tough one, but it is so worth it.