Time to Let It All Out

Many moons ago, I went to the doctor with a boyfriend. He invited me into the examination room where the doctor began asking him about his medical history.

"So, I smoke about a pack a day," my friend disclosed. Ok, I thought, that makes sense. You are going to have some obvious signs of cigarette smoking and there could be risks to your health. Your doctor should definitely know that.

"And I smoke weed every day." Wait, I thought, weed's illegal! Do you really want to mention that? Does he have to know that?

"And I do coke on the weekends --well, sometimes through the week." WHOA!! Dude, stop! I mean, never mind the weed, coke is really illegal! Not a good idea.

Full disclosure, the list went on, and though I wasn't exactly innocent, I was stunned anyone would say those things out loud. To a guy in slacks and a tie. In a professional office building. Those things were done in the dark, behind closed doors. They were meant to be kept secret! But my friend wanted to be healed. I don't mean he wanted to give those things up, necessarily; but in order to diagnose the issue, in order to write a script or recommend a course of treatment, the doctor required transparency, and this patient was willing to give it. 

Have you ever thought you were hiding something from God? Stop and think about that for a moment. Think of all the things you and God have talked about. Please heal my mom. Please make me more like Jesus. Thank You for handling that situation with a coworker. But have you ever, intentionally gotten down to the nitty-gritty? Have you ever asked the Holy Spirit to reveal things you've been living with so long you don't even notice their impact on your life? Have you ever turned off your phone, shut the door and prayed through the moments of your past life? Have you talked to God about the time you cheated on your spouse or your taxes? Have you talked about the time you switched price tags at Home Depot? Have you talked about all those dirty little habits you think no one knows anything about? Have you talked about your lust? your selfishness? your agoraphobia? your nail-biting? To be healed, to be transformed, we need to be fully transparent with our Physician. Those things we think we are keeping from Him we are not. Through confession, the bearing of our hearts, giving them to Him in full we take our first steps toward healing; we demonstrate our willingness to trust. 

And there is immediate benefit! The lightening of our load. By speaking "hidden" truths to a mighty, omnipotent Savior, we cast our cares on the One who cares for us. We bring the past into the present to be dealt with right there; our maladies are no longer waiting to sneak up on us from behind, but are right before our eyes, ready to be faced down and destroyed like Goliath before a young but faith-filled David. We bring shame, the parasitic ravager of souls into the light and breath of the Spirit, staving its growth as air and light halt assailing bacteria. We bring our accounts current, leaving no area of our history concealed, unspoken, or unaddressed, so that we may participate in the new life purchased for us through Jesus Christ.   

I don't know whether my old boyfriend had known this doctor for so long, he trusted him implicitly, or whether he had great confidence in medicine and its practitioners. Maybe he was just that desperate for healing. Whatever the reason, this man was willing to be completely open and honest --divulging even some of the worst things he had done --in hopes some aspect of his life would change. If transparency entrusted to another fallible human being can lead to healing in the body, imagine what the Great Physician, the Creator of every human being --body, mind, and spirit --can do with your honesty. Do you know Him so well you can trust Him? Do you believe in the existence and redemption of Someone greater than this world? Are you that sick and tired of being sick and tired? Speak the truth honestly, openly. Confess your sins and your failures to the Lord. There is nothing He doesn't already know and nothing He can't carry. When you withhold nothing from God, He will not withhold His good work from you.