Be Honest with God | Northstar Church

“ I cry out to God; yes, I shout. Oh, that God would listen to me! When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord. All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted. I think of God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help.” – Psalm 77:1-3.

This week we have been talking about honesty in the daily devotional. We have talked abut being honest in all of our dealings. But as we strive this week to be honest with others, we need to spend some time being honest with God. Maybe that sounds ridiculous. God knows everything about us yesterday, today and tomorrow. He knows what I need, what my wants are, He even knows I want what I don’t need. He knows everything. He sees me as I am. You can’t get more honest than that.

Of course, you are absolutely right. But I want you to think about it in a different light. We need to be honest with ourselves before we can be honest with God. But we are usually blind to our own faults and selfish ways, because what we do seems so normal and so obviously right. It is akin to Adam and Eve running around frantically, trying to cover up their shame by haphazardly sewing together fig leaves. We tend to think as if God won’t know or mind what’s really in our hearts as long as we say and appear to do the right Christian thing. When you say it, yes it sounds silly doesn’t it? It is silly to think we can keep a secret from God. But we all try to do it on some level or another and that’s what we’re doing when we aren’t totally honest with ourselves or Him.

That’s a much more constructive way of doing things. We can dialogue with God about how we feel, about what we think or what we are dealing with. We can be totally honest with God. When we give voice to our complaints, our worries, our bitterness, or our fears, we aren’t telling God anything He doesn’t already know. What we are doing is laying ourselves open before Him, holding nothing back, and asking Him to work in our lives.

Listen to what Psalm 77:23-26 says:”Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.”

In Psalm 62:8, God uses David to give us permission to tell Him everything: “O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.”

If we desire God more than anything on this earth, then we need to be honest with ourselves and with Him.

Discussion Questions:

How are we still sewing fig leaves together today in a feeble attempt to not be honest with God?
Have you experienced the freedom of just being honest with Him?
What can we do this week to be more honest with God?