LIGHT OF DIVINE SECRETS (9)

“Would not God search this out? For He knows the SECRETS of the HEART” – Psalm 44:21

No human heart is inaccessible to the LIGHT of DIVINE SECRETS: “If we had forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a foreign God, “Would not God search this out? For He knows the SECRETS of the HEART” (Psa.44:20-21). God knows the secrets of our hearts. Those things about us we assume are hidden from everyone – fears, hurts, unrealistic expectations, lusts, and sins – are open knowledge to Him. God knows everything from our unspoken prayers to our unpursued desires and beyond. He sees the secrets of sinners and saints alike. Psalm 90:8 says of the Lord: “You have set our iniquities before You, our SECRET SINS in the LIGHT of Your countenance.”

Nothing is hidden from the Lord: “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his paths” (Pro.5:21). Hebrews 4:13 affirms: “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” The book of Joshua, for example, tells the story pf Achan who coveted items from Jericho that the Lord had put off limits. He thought he could secretly conceal his sin by burying the items in his tent, but it was not hidden from the Lord. He told Joshua that Israel had sinned by taking some of the devoted things and hiding them among their own belongings (Jos.7: 10-11). The sin of one was the sin of all!

As God wills and enables, we also can see the secrets of other hearts and even secret sins. Of course, in the realm of prophecy, we must tread in this secret dimension with caution, as it can be helpful or harmful. Paul explained how to deal with sinners concerning seeing the secrets of the heart: “But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you” (1 Cor.14: 24-25). Seeing the secrets of a sinner’s heart and prophesying God’s love and purpose can bring about salvation.

It is possible to see the good or the bad in human hearts. We must never call out the dirt, but always focus on the treasure. The enemy can easily fool one into projecting one’s own sin onto another’s life. When the Pharisees dragged a woman caught in the act of adultery, Jesus was clear: “He who has no sin should cast the first stone” (Jh.8:7). Rather than condemn sinners, we’re to pray for them using the knowledge we gained by seeing the secret sin. It is not in our place as ‘seeing’ saints to judge (Mt.7: 1-5). Seeing secret sins calls for making intercession.