This is part three of The Unveiled Life series. Click here for part one.
We know that God made us for authenticity—to be open and exposed in His presence so that He might meet us in those places. And yet, the world is full of lesser refuges, places we choose to run to instead, believing that exposure to an all-powerful God will be too painful, too vulnerable.
But why does this really matter? Why not just continue choosing the false sense of security we find in our idols? Why not live “protected” and hidden from our Creator?
Because while the enemy “comes only to steal and kill and destroy; [Jesus has] come that [we] may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).
Full, abundant, real life—that is what God offers and He alone is the source.
It matters because if we don’t choose to be honest and bare before God, we risk living years of life in pretense. We settle for brokenness. We let our lives be ruled by pride, which only leads to downfall and destruction (Proverbs 16:18). We fall into the enemy’s trap, walking willingly into the lie, as gullible as sheep. We deny God the opportunity to work in miraculous ways.
Still we may protest: “the joy that comes in the morning is not worth the pain of the night.” Oh, how short-sighted we are! And yet even here, God meets us. He simply asks us to say yes and He will take care of the rest—healing, wholeness, and restoration—the abundant life.
It may feel shaky at first, this place of vulnerability with Him, for we know His refuge is an invitation to look beyond our fear and confront the gap between who we are and who we imagine ourselves to be. Examining the mess can be shame-inducing, but God stabilizes us with his unchanging character. Even in our most unkempt state, His love is steadfast and His presence near. Ultimately, He can bring the dichotomy of the ideal self and the reality of who we are into an overlapping state as we embrace a life lived undone, unraveled, before Him.
“Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” Isaiah 6:5
He provides stability and unshakable ground for us to stand on so even when the things of this world crumble—He remains. He is able to be our stronghold and our refuge because He Himself is unchanging. His character and person are fortified in the absolute truth and love that our minds cannot fully comprehend. His perfection and pure goodness mean that He will never ever do anything that is not for our ultimate good and that doesn’t lead to the abundant and full life that He promises.
May our prayer be for our hearts to recognize what our souls truly need—the holy, exposing, all-encompassing presence of God—and to sing with the Psalmist
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after;
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4