Morning by Morning, April 26 - “Please Lower Your Mask”
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day. ...
“Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what He has done for me.
I cried aloud to Him,
and He was extolled with my tongue.
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
He has given heed to the words of my prayer.
Blessed be God,
because He has not rejected my prayer
or removed His steadfast love from me” (Psalm 66:16-20).
We can be honest with You -- with our iniquities and with our needs. We can open up to You and cry out to You -- without any fear that You won’t listen or stop loving. You don’t reject our prayers and You don’t remove Your love. You’re the God who sees and listens and cares.
But our part is to humble ourselves to turn to You and open up to You. We’re tempted to cover up our shame and wounds, to hide behind our fears in isolation or secrecy from what’s going on inside and behind the walls we’ve built. In trying to protect ourselves in our own way, our own strength, we’re really pulling ourselves away from You in the very places where we need You the most.
So You reach out. You draw us near. And You remind us that You love us and never reject us. You encourage us that You’re for us. And if God be for us, who can stand against us.
But we have to respond. We have to cry out. We have to ask for Your help and be willing to receive it. A true relationship of love with You requires that we always have the freedom from You to love You or not, to open up to You or not, to turn to You and cry out to You, and make our prayers and needs known to You or not.
My wife and I were recently travelling for ministry and were going through the checkpoint at the airport. I showed the officer my photo id and my boarding pass, waiting on the green light and ready to go through the security gate. But he asked me first, “Please lower your mask, so I can see your face.”
What a picture that is for us. You invite us to lower our mask, to let down our walls, to open our hearts and let You see us as we are -- face to Face, heart to Heart. Then as You meet us where we are and remind us who You are and whose we are, we can go through the gates that are set before us. We’re secure in Your love as we travel through our world, knowing You even as we are known.
So I let down my mask to You. I open up my heart to You. I welcome You into my morning and every moment of my day. By the mercy of Your grace and unfailing love, I can be honest with everything going on inside of me because You’ve made me unafraid and unashamed to open up and go everywhere with You -- the One who sees me and knows all about me and yet keeps on loving me and travelling with me every day of my journey. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My friend, may you be secure in the steadfast love of our God, who sees you and loves you and knows all about you, freeing you to be honest and open with Him about all you need, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy & Rocio Hays
Messiah Ministries
17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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