Invisible Fire

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Daniel 2:20
[God] knows what lies hidden in darkness, though He is surrounded
by light (v.22).

Marty, my hairdresser, told me about this guy she
knows—he has flames tattooed on his scalp.
With a full head of hair, no one can see the
inferno on his skull. But, when he shaves his head, the
fire is visible. It’s kind of a cool concept—now you see it,
now you don’t. Unless he chooses to share it, the tattoo is
his own little secret.

King Nebuchadnezzar had a secret. He refused
to disclose the contents of a disturbing dream. He
challenged his advisors not only to interpret the meaning
of the nightmare, but to describe the events in the dream
as well (Daniel 2:5).

As one of the king’s advisors, Daniel would be killed
unless he could detail and decipher Nebuchadnezzar’s
dream. Daniel prayed, and God revealed the dream to
him in a vision (v.19). King Nebuchadnezzar responded by
bowing down before Daniel and proclaiming, “Truly, your
God is the greatest of gods . . . a revealer of mysteries, for
you have been able to reveal this secret” (v.47).

The point here is not that we should all expect to name
and interpret dreams. It’s that God enabled Daniel to do
this because “[God] knows what lies hidden in darkness”
(v.22), and He sees everything—both our good deeds
and the shady stuff we’d rather not discuss. He’s aware
of our private addictions, corrupt thought patterns, and
the double crossing that we think no one notices. God
also knows that these kinds of secrets burn in our hearts like invisible fire.

Fortunately, there’s no “secret” so shocking that it can keep us from God’s
love. He’s the righteous Judge and—at the same time—He is love (1 John 4:8).
If we expose our secret sin and confess it to Him, He will “forgive us” and
“cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9).

—Jennifer Benson Schuldt

more›
Read Psalms 32:3 to see what happened when David came clean
before God.

next›
When you remember that God’s all-seeing eyes are on you, how does that
prompt you to stop some actions and start others? Why do we sometimes
refuse to discuss our sin with God?

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