ODJ: invisible fire
July 22, 2011
[God] knows what lies hidden in darkness, though He is surrounded by light (v.22).
READ: Daniel 2:20-49
Marty, my hairdresser, told me about this guy she knows—he has flames tattooed on his scalp. With a full head of hair, no one can see the inferno on his skull. But, when he shaves his head, the fire is visible. It’s kind of a cool concept—now you see it, now you don’t. Unless he chooses to share it, the tattoo is his own little secret.
King Nebuchadnezzar had a secret. He refused to disclose the contents of a disturbing dream. He challenged his advisors not only to interpret the meaning of the nightmare, but to describe the events in the dream as well (Daniel 2:5).
As one of the king’s advisors, Daniel would be killed unless he could detail and decipher Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Daniel prayed, and God revealed the dream to him in a vision (v.19). King Nebuchadnezzar responded by bowing down before Daniel and proclaiming, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods . . . a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret” (v.47).
The point here is not that we should all expect to name and interpret dreams. It’s that God enabled Daniel to do this because “[God] knows what lies hidden in darkness” (v.22), and He sees everything—both our good deeds and the shady stuff we’d rather not discuss. He’s aware of our private addictions, corrupt thought patterns, and the double crossing that we think no one notices. God also knows that these kinds of secrets burn in our hearts like invisible fire.
Fortunately, there’s no “secret” so shocking that it can keep us from God’s love. He’s the righteous Judge and—at the same time—He is love (1 John 4:8). If we expose our secret sin and confess it to Him, He will “forgive us” and “cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9). —Jennifer Benson Schuldt
When you remember that God’s all-seeing eyes are on you, how does that prompt you to stop some actions and start others? Why do we sometimes refuse to discuss our sin with God?
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