Hidden Door

Ezekiel 8, "Then He said to me, 'Son of man, look toward the north.' So I looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol of jealousy. And He said to me, 'Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable things the house of Israel is doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable.' Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall. He said to me, 'Son of man, now dig into the wall.' So I dug into the wall and uncovered a door to a hidden room. And He said to me, 'Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here... They say, 'The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.' Again, He said, 'You will see them doing things that are even more detestable."... He said to me, 'Have you seen this, son of man?..."

How many times have I heard, have I said, "It does not matter, I am not hurting anyone. Why not?" It does matter. Everything we do matters. We can get caught in criticizing others for the things we are seeing them do, but do we, ourselves, see the things we hold hidden from others? Or should I say, things that we think we are hiding from others. We think we are safe as long as no one is around that knows us, or if we are truly alone in our own house. But God can go into those hidden places, those places we hold dear and sacred. To God, there are no secrets; there are no doors to our life that He cannot uncover. (9:9-10) "They say, 'The LORD has forsaken the land; the LORD does not see.' So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done." We rely on a false sense of security, feeling we have gotten away with something. Oh, but we haven't. Everything always gets brought to light. He will uncover those hidden sins. Then, we will stand ashamed.

We go along our merry way, either pointing our finger at others or accepting every sin as, 'no big deal'. Then one day the bottom falls out and we cry, asking God 'why' and accusing Him of being unjust and cruel. We forget that He was patient with us, giving us time to come to Him. Why is it that we do not see or hear until we are in pain? Why do my children"want" me to spank them? We are a stubborn and rebellious people. We would rather believe the lie that, 'we can get away with it', rather than change before the pain. The good part is, that after we have exhausted all of our searching, His true love can be felt. (11:18-21), "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws. They will be My people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD." What we need to do is to be careful that we are not stubbornly, continually going against God, after He has revealed the truth to us. For when that sin is revealed we will be utterly ashamed.

Oswald Chambers, ". . . 'choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . .' Your choice must be a deliberate determination— it is not something into which you will automatically drift. And everything else in your life will be held in temporary suspension until you make a decision. The proposal is between you and God—" What are you secretly holding dear? Whom do you serve? There are no secrets from God. The sooner we turn our lives over to Him, the sooner we can be set free from our secret bondage...

http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/07/08/devotion.aspx?year=2009