An ear-piercing scream came from the bedroom. I was helping my daughter, Cricket, move into her new home, and we were all busy in different areas. Obviously, something was wrong.
As I dashed into the clothes-strewn room, I found Cricket and her friend, Stephanie, climbing each other like human ladders, squealing like demonized pigs and pointing toward the corner.
There quivered a wee baby squirrel, his terrified eyes round as quarters.
His mama must have hidden him away in what she thought was a safe, cushy nest of clothes while the moving van doors stood open. Didn’t turn out as safe as she thought.
Hiding places are often ineffective, aren’t they? They may be a temporary solution to an unfaceable problem, but seems like we’re always found out sooner or later.
Like disobedient Jonah, who ended up human sushi until he realized he could run, but he couldn’t hide from the Almighty. The God who sees.
Or Esther, a Jewess living incognito in Persia until “such a time as this” when she blew her opulent cover to save her people from annihilation.
And of course, Joseph, the Egyptian ruler who finally popped his cork at the appearance of his turncoat brothers and admitted he was an undercover Hebrew slave.
So why do you and I continue to hide? Why do we conceal parts of ourselves…cloak our true motives…wear masks (even when it’s not October 31)?
The Lord sees through our disguises and knows all our hiding places. And that’s a good thing. Because like Jesus reminds us, there’s freedom in truth.
“The truth will set you free,” (John 8:32).
Freedom. It’s worth the risk of unveiling our masquerade.
What mask are you wearing, my friend? Papa God will give you the courage to remove it and bask in the freedom He offers. All you need to do is ask.
