Naked and Exposed, but not Afraid

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. (Hebrews 4:13)

How does God see us? The image of being 'naked and exposed' before God kind of says it all, doesn't it? We cannot 'hide' our true identity, motives, attitudes, or thoughts from him. If that is the case, then it is high time we start to look at ourselves as God sees us - knowing everything we are and do, good or bad. When we start to see ourselves through God's eyes, we see areas within ourselves that need to change, and we also see those areas where he has been at work, changing us from the inside out. Pride might keep us from seeing ourselves as we really are, but when we get past that prideful attitude about ourselves, we find ourselves standing before God, naked and exposed, but no longer ashamed of who we are because we know he is at work.

God is the creator of all things - you and I would not exist without his action of creation. I have often come across individuals who just don't like themselves, complaining all the time that God 'created' them with something that is 'too big', 'too small', 'too ugly', or 'too something'. They refuse to see the unique beauty of what God has created. When we are down on ourselves, it is easy to get critical of what God is doing within our lives. We don't think he is moving fast enough. We are critical of the 'material' he is using to create something afresh within us. We complain about the 'method' he is using to show us what we are in him and what he desires to do with and for us. 

Remembering that our 'starting spot' is always that of a sinner, given to following one's own will, living apart from God's grace, we might do well to see just how far we have come from that 'starting spot' since God's grace entered into our lives. We may not be perfect yet, nor are we always consistent in our walk with Jesus, but we are not the same as we were! If we keep that in mind as we come into each new day, we might just see what some label as 'progress' in our walk with Jesus. God might just see us quite differently than we see ourselves - because he is able to be honest in areas where we are not quite able to be very honest with ourselves yet. We need to trust him to expose what needs exposure, touching those areas we have neatly hidden away from public view. 

As he touches our lives each day, we come away just a bit different than we were when we entered that day. It may not seem like we are, but it is impossible for the creator to leave us mired in sin's guilt and debris. He will help us rid ourselves of all that hinders our walk with him and embrace all that helps us live as transformed creatures. Just sayin!

Unexpected means to an end

If you found yourself in the belly of a whale, do you suspect you'd be kind of glad to be free from that 'chamber of horror'? The account of Jonah continues with the fish 'vomiting' him up onto dry land. Do you know how close to dry land a whale can actually get? It usually isn't right up to the shoreline, is it? When God does miracles to redeem us from the folly of our rebellion and sin, don't be surprised when he does things completely outside of the realm of 'normal'!

Then the Lord spoke to Jonah again and said,  “Go to that big city Nineveh, and say what I tell you.” So Jonah obeyed the Lord and went to Nineveh. It was a very large city. A person had to walk for three days to travel through it. Jonah went to the center of the city and began speaking to the people. He said, “After 40 days, Nineveh will be destroyed!” (Jonah 3:1-4)

The call was difficult enough, but the 'journey' to actually act upon that call was likely more difficult than Jonah ever imagined. Sometimes the 'journey' into obedience is harder than it looks, but rarely do we encounter what we 'imagined'. I doubt Jonah thought he'd encounter the raging storm, fearful sailors, a big fish, and the three day walk into the center of one of the largest metropolises of the day. He likely imagined a routy crowd, not very willing to listen to him, much less take heed when he warned them of God's plan for their land.

Instead, he delivered the message, hard as it was, and do you know what happened next? "The people of Nineveh believed God. They decided to stop eating for a time to think about their sins. They put on special clothes to show they were sorry. All the people in the city did this, from the most important to the least important." (vs. 5) They fasted! They thought about the way they had been living their lives! The contemplated the truth of their misguided choices! They believed God!

The steps of obedience we take may seem 'out there' at times, but when God calls us to do something 'out there', he has prepared to do great things through those steps. Jonah likely had no clue their response would be to hear him out, much less turn their hearts to God and seek their redemption. We never know when God will use in unexpected ways and in ways 'bigger' than our imagination can concoct. All that is required is our obedience. Just saying!