Recently I sensed the Holy Spirit speak this to me:

“You will never get over it til you admit it.”

Facing the truth about who we are can be a bitter pill to swallow, especially when we have to acknowledge that truth to someone else. Many of us prefer to bite it off one chunk at a time… or spread it out among many people so no one person knows all the details.

But do we know how much freedom there is when we admit the truth to another human, unfiltered & unfettered by their opinion?! We simply have to be honest — About who we are. About what we love. About our past. About our true desires for the future. About our weaknesses & worries & secret obsessions 🙂 About our character flaws. Even, maybe, about our secret thoughts.

One of our pastors at ONEchapel once said,

If we’d admit more of our temptations, we’d have to admit less of our sins.

Jesus said the truth will set us free. And it does. But we have to be willing to air it. Not only is secret-keeping bad for our spiritual lives, but it also increases our stress {among other physical repercussions}.

This reminds me of a childhood song we used to sing, loosely applied here:

Hide it under a bushel? No, I’m gonna let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel? No, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Don’t let satan {blow} it out, I’m gonna let it shine…

It’s a funny & light-hearted approach to a serious matter, but I kind of love it. Why? Because its simplicity captures my message today:

1. DON’T HIDE YOUR “IT”. Let it shine — air it out. Bring it into the light of day – that nagging thought or struggle you don’t want others to know about {You know the one… it immediately came to mind when you started reading this!}. And please believe — your “it” won’t go away until you deal with it. Until you stare it in the face & acknowledge it! So just. do. it. already! Don’t waste another year of your life piling dirt on what won’t stay buried. Secrets have a way of regenerating new life, no matter how far away we move, how much money we earn, how much makeup we wear, or how we ‘reinvent’ ourselves.
2. DON’T LET SATAN {BLOW} IT OUT. My mom used to say, Satan loves a secret. It’s true. He knows that things kept in the dark grow mold, so to speak. A plant [new life] doesn’t grow in dank basements. Mildew does. Don’t let satan block you from speaking the truth because what stays hidden remains broken. Instead, allow God to heal you in the light.

You wouldn’t believe the freedom you’ll find on the other side of honesty. And you’ll NEVER know it unless you share what you’re afraid to.

“Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” ~James 5:16

Credit: VerilyMag.com

Words to the wise:

• Pray first. Ask God what to divulge, who to share it with, & for a good opportunity to start the conversation. Disclaimer: It doesn’t have to be perfect. I personally believe it’s better to act quickly than to sit on secrets for weeks.
• Find a trusted person to be honest with. Don’t just tell anyone. Pray for the ‘who’ & trust God to reveal them to you!
• Make time to share. Is this a phone conversation? ‘Look them in the eyes over coffee’ scenario? Would an email / letter work well? I’ve used all 3 methods successfully. A more personal approach may work best, but it’s not always necessary 🙂
• Don’t hold back. Just own it – whatever it is – that you’re stumbling over. Or that you secretly fear. The more open you are, the more freedom you’ll experience on the other side of fear.
• What if they judge you? Before you begin the conversation, give God control over the other person’s response. He knows how they’ll react, so I recommend covering your confession in prayer. But yes, at the end of the day, they may reject you. They may judge. They may view you differently or back away for awhile. No matter what though, you must care more about your integrity than another person’s opinion of you.
• Share your testimony. You don’t have to give the gory details, but if you experience great breakthrough & freedom after airing your “secrets”, then by all means encourage others to do the same! That’s what I’m doing here today. Another believer or friend may need just that push to be brave, too. At times our secrets are another’s, though, so just use discretion when sharing what involves someone else’s shortcomings.

I’m so thankful I’ve aired my secrets. I pray the Lord gives you who are reading this the wisdom to discern who to share your struggles with, too. I’d love to hear your testimonies of freedom!

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” ~1 John 1:9