Transparent Concealer

“He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13 NKJV

So, my daughter has become this guru of different make up techniques and how to apply stuff I never even heard of before. It's taken me some time to get used to her wearing makeup as she is my youngest and is so small that she could pass for a 12 year old! But it's what she likes so I pour into her the difference between displaying make up and concealing things she doesn't want known... 

Hence the name, Transparent Concealer... I am not a makeup person at all but I have plenty of masks that I wear on a daily basis with no application process at all! Don't believe me? When I am driving and someone cuts me off or speeds up just to get in front of me and then slows down? Instantly my offended and road rage mask comes on. When I am not getting attention like everyone else, my pity party mask comes on. When I feel alone but don't want to share with anyone, that "I'm just peachy" mask comes straight on! 

We each have something that we would like to hide, conceal from God and others. Many of us have done a spectacular job of doing just that. We hide issues in our marriages so that when divorce is afoot, many are shocked about it, when you finally speak up about your depression, no one even suspected that you were struggling, not even the woman across the street that suffered for years that you could've walked alongside of. Many masks for many issues. But what Jesus wants is for us to be plain with our issues. I love the story of the woman with the issue of blood. Many don't connect with her story, itself, because the common thought is that her issue was that she was bleeding. But when research is done on how women with blood issues were treated back then, it was more than just blood that she was losing. She lost money, she lost friends (I'm sure), and she lost time. She was isolated. I know that because she crept through the crowd to get to Jesus and did it very low because she touched the HEM of His garment. There is no hem in the middle or waist or side. A hem is at the bottom or the top. It's where the clothing begins or ends. She stretched out her hand to touch the hem and reached Him! No masks, no hiding, and no concealing who she was or what her issue was! It was blood! But she, by faith, was determined to be healed and she knew that He could do it. Had she hidden herself when she heard he was passing through, she would still be bleeding today! Okay, not today but you get what I mean. 

David spoke about his hidden sin in Psalms and how sick it made him. Ezekiel spoke about "fire" being "shut up" in his bones when he kept his mouth shut. There is certain je ne sais quoi about concealing things. That doesn't mean to "go tell it on the mountains, over the hills and everywhere." No! That is reserved for His Gospel and other exciting news that you want to share. But each of us, including me, should have a small arsenal of prayer warriors/ iron based folks that can help us sharpen our iron. We don't all have that "friends since birth" blessing that some have and so we have to work at finding those few who can walk with us, hold up our arms when we are tired, tell us when we are wrong, receive lashings from us with grace because we know we are wrong and act as make up remover wipes for the concealer that we long to wear as a cover up. 

Be who Jesus died and rose again for you to be. Be transparent. Be honest, first with God and yourself. Confess when wrong. Repent of wrongdoings. Retire your masks. Be the flawed apple of His eye. Oh... and retire the masks.