Secrets

I recently was a mediator between two people who were having an argument.  Have you ever been that person?  I DON’T mean a fight between your kids.  This was a fight between two grown adults!  After listening to each of them and their side of the story I realized these two were “keeping each others secrets”.   Isn’t this exactly where the enemy finds his playground?  In the secret, in the hidden.  

The enemy started with a lie and in the end he will be defeated with TRUTH!  In Genesis chapter 3 the serpent is described as “crafty” in some translations he’s called “deceiver.”  In the first 3 verses he questions Eve asking her “did God really say you must not…?”   Eve confirms that in fact God did say…  At the end of verse 3 Eve states that “God said if she touches the tree she will die.”  In verse 4 the serpent says “you will not certainly die”.   He lies.  That is what he does.  Jesus says in John 8:44 about Satan:  “…not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”  

Secrets are harmful.  I’m not talking about things that ought to be confidential.  Something shared between husband and wife or between two friends.  I’m talking about things that if made known would make one feel shame.  Things that may not even be true but we’ve believed them and so we hold onto them.  Some of us don’t even know how to get out of the evil cycle of keeping secrets.  My husband is a recovering addict and he repeats one of AA’s principles often.  “We’re only as sick as our secrets.”  It basically means that a secret that grows in the dark becomes more harmful but once exposed, it loses its power.  I love the parable of the Lamp.  Jesus says “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed.  Instead, they put it on a stand, so those who come in can see the light.  For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”  Luke 8:16-17.  This is where I find my personal definition of a good secret vs a bad secret.  Once revealed a good secret will bring healing and hope.  A bad secret will bring chaos and destruction.  

Growing up I believed several lies that added up to one gigantic lie.  The gigantic lie basically was this “You are worthless”.  It was an awful secret that I kept to myself and that the enemy I’m sure enjoyed watching me hold onto.  He whispered in my ear hundreds if not thousands of times a day.  Messages like “your fat, you’ll always be fat, no one likes you, your ugly, your stupid, no one will ever want you, your garbage.”  Some of these messages we partial truths and I believed the lie because it seemed fitting.  These lies kept me in bondage.  I was in bondage to food.  It was my escape and it was my comfort.  I was also in bondage to music.   Music was another escape for me.  We all have or have had an addiction.  Addiction isn’t just alcohol or drugs.  Oh no.  Addiction is anything we allow to consume us.  You can be addicted to exercise, sex, shopping, food, cutting, gambling, gaming, social media, etc.  

When I went off to college is when I began to do some major self-reflection.  I was confronted for the first time with the fact that I hated myself.  I had roommates that had planned an intervention for me (keep in mind I did go to a Christian private school).  They said “Noelle you not only don’t like yourself but you hate yourself.”  They shared that I was a very negative person.  At the time this all cut deep and hurt so bad.  I tried to run and hide from all of them and their accusations.  They loved me through it though.  They didn’t just preach the gospel they showed me.  It was their constant and consistent love that ultimately changed my trajectory.  The Bible says “take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.”  These thoughts are the enemy’s lies.  They are his plan to destroy you and set you on a destructive path.  If the thought doesn’t line up with God, His promises, His truth (the word of God- the Bible) then we need to discard it and replace it with truth.  

Are there dark secrets your keeping?  Are there lies your believing?  Daughter you are loved.  You are a treasure.  You can’t afford to keep secrets or listen to lies.  These things will destroy you and those around you.  Today is the day to take those thoughts captive.  Today is the day to shine a light on those dark secrets and expose them.  Only then can you have true peace.  Proverbs 28: 13 (AMP) say’s “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But whoever confesses and turns away from his sins will find COMPASSION and MERCY.” 

A promise we can BANK on! That’s GOOD NEWSl!!