Spots In The Light
For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed,
nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.
(Mark 4:22)
Recently I was to teach a Bible study class on the Holy Spirit. I had been praying all day on and off for God to give me what I needed to pass on to the class. At some point before the class began, I happened to look down at my shirt and noticed several small grease spots that I had thought were washed out when I cleaned the shirt. I thought “great” then “ahhhhhh! I get it God.” When I had pulled the shirt out of my drawer that morning, it was in minimal morning light. I even held it up near the window where there was more light to make sure the spots were gone and they looked gone. However, it wasn’t until later in the day when I was under even more light that I saw the spots. And in the sunlight you could see them even more.
When we come to Christ and are saved, we come with many spots and blemishes. He exposes them over time, showing us within ourselves what needs cleansing. We then continue on in our race, working with the Lord on cleansing our hearts and cleaning ourselves up. In time, however, many things in life can happen which can cause new spots and blemishes to arise or cause old ones to come forth that we thought were gone but only hidden. After coming to Christ we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. He not only comforts us, guides us and leads us, but He will illuminate those spots we either thought were gone or show us new ones that have to be removed. Just as we need to clean ourselves physically every day from dirt and impurities, we must do the same spiritually, examining our hearts every day to see what else needs to be cleaned up.
John 16:7-11
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
Though you may be a Christian, it doesn’t mean you are exempt from sin. We can be filled with the Holy Spirit and still be attacked in our old ways. When Peter walked with Jesus and learned from Him for three years, we see in Matthew 26:69-75 that after Jesus was arrested, Peter had encountered fear of what people would say and denied Christ three times when a servant girl said that he was with Jesus of Galilee. After Christ’s resurrection and the Apostles were baptized in the Holy Spirit, we find later on in Galatian’s 2:11-14 (after Christ’s ascension) that Peter again encountered fear of what people would say when Paul had to correct him:
“11 When Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs.”
This only proves our need for the Holy Spirit to illuminate the spots in our life that may cause us to fall back in old ways and fears. It also shows how even though we can fall to old ways, through correction, illumination and a closer walk with Christ, we can continue doing the work Jesus has called us to do for Him.
Take a moment today to ask the Lord what else needs cleaning up in your heart. Ask Him to illuminate it for you on a daily basis so you can see it clearly and work with Him to remove it.