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Honest to God?
by David A. DePra
 
     So many of us act religious with God. We don't do it
on purpose, mind you. Perhaps we have just learned a
pattern and have never realized it. But what a freedom it
is to be able to stop telling God what you think He wants to
hear, and to simply be honest with Him.
     This is a great key to freedom: Complete honesty with God.
Complete vulnerability with God. It does take faith and a
measure of knowing His true character, but the Holy Spirit is
faithful to show us how to do this. We can be sure of His
helping us be honest because no one wants us to be
honest more than God Himself.
     Tell God everything that bothers you. Be completely open
and honest about it. Especially tell Him about all of
your doubts about Him; all of your misunderstandings of
Him; all of your inability to grasp Him. And then surrender
it all to Him -- again and again.
     Notice something here. Being honest with God is not
a matter of justifying our sins and failures. No. We must
never do that. We confess to God what we think and feel
in an attitude of surrender. In an attitude of wanting to
get free. That kind of honesty speaks of true humility. And it
is what God wants. He desires Truth in the inward parts.
     God already knows us far beyond what we will ever know
about ourselves. He is surprised by nothing we do, say, or
think. In fact, if we find ourselves being shocked by what
is in our heart, it is only God showing us what He has always
known. Such a exposure may terrify us, even make us think
we have backslidden. But it is likely nothing more than a
symtom of God working in us, to bring us to a place of
depletion and reduction. He is answering our prayers for
Truth, and making us into a work of grace.
     God is always honest with us. He is incapable of being
otherwise. When something happens which seems to
show God as being less than honest or faithful, we can be
sure that it is our lack understanding, or our self-will, which is
the problem. Part of being honest with God is telling Him how
we feel when things like that happen.
     Some of us have been afraid of being honest with God.
But if we would just sidestep our fear, and launch out in
faith, we'd find out that our fear is exactly what God
says fear is: A lie.
     The more honest we are with God, the more we will see
how honest He is with us. To coin an old saying, "Those who
trust Him wholly, find Him wholly true." And it does take faith
to be honest with God.

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