By David ReayMonday 29 Mar 2021LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand! (NLT)
A lovely short poem read recently says something along these lines: “there is a knock on the door; I sweep the dust of my loneliness under the rug, arrange a smile, and open the door.” Those words speak of the habit we may have of hiding our real feelings. Putting on a smile when we are crying inside.
In a way, this is part of living in relationships with others. We do have to hide our pain at times, we do have to appear to have it altogether on occasions. None of us can be an open book all the time. Our sadness or loneliness or pain cannot always be on public display.
But it is good to have at least one or two others to whom we can reveal ourselves, those who can get beneath the veneer of smiles and cheerfulness. Otherwise, we risk simply becoming the creatures of others’ expectations. Our real selves become buried so deeply we never get to deal with what is really going on inside us.
And it is even better to realise that the one who made us knows full well what is going on. He is not fooled by superficial smiles, he is not deceived by appearances. Praise him that he knows us better than we know ourselves.
Blessings
David