God Knows What You Got!
Sometimes He lets us know that too!
There are times when I get this—and live accordingly. And that pleases God. And then there are the rest of the times, when I sort of know that this is true in my thinking, but I act as though it isn’t!
Listen to this text:
But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.
Accordingly, whatever you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.” Luke 12:2-3 NASB
God sees it all.
God knows it all.
And when it is needed, God tells it all.
This was not the first time that this happened—but it was a particularly profound moment of discovering that it was true—and I didn’t want it to be true. I kind’a wanted to know that from time to time, something could be covered over and forgotten, so that no one else would see. Let me tell you of one of those moments when it became painfully clear that this Scripture from the teaching of Jesus was utterly and completely true—and true today.
There was a time when I was doing research on a topic. It was agreed to by a national board, I was assigned the task, and all understood that my findings were to be published nationally. The way that the assignment came to me was utterly unexpected. I wound up in an astonshing prayer time, then wound up in a city that I was wasn’t expecting to live in. I met people that I didn’t know who offered me materials, and resources. More importantly, total strangers gave their complete partnership, often at considerable sacrifice, in order to make sure that the research got done, and the findings published.
It didn’t take a degree in rocket science to know that God was the one who had assigned this to me.
But I didn’t want to do it.
Because I didn’t want this, the research work was carried out my with great reluctance, followed by excessive complaining. I would trip into a divine appointment—someone would send some amazing information my way, against all odds—and I would thank them—and then whine about the task In fact, I whined about the thing all the time…
It came to a head when I was a student in a course on church renewal and evangelism, offered in Vancouver. Studying this topic was a joy—and about 30 of us (from a class of 300) were staying at a residence attached to the school about a 15 minute walk from the campus. It was a great opportunity to study, and to be in a community of fellow believers at the same time.
There was a team of people who had been brought in to teach the course, who claimed that every gift of the Spirit was still active in our present day. They taught that God could give insight into a human heart through gifts of the Spirit called
So, I was in this three-week course, listening to that teaching, and on the Friday of the second week, that team brought in those whom they claimed had gifts of Prophecy, Word of Wisdom and Word of Knowledge. The leaders had told us that the Friday was going to be a practicum in what we had been learning from the Bible. So, on that fateful day they asked the class if there was anyone who wanted to receive prayer for their ministry assignments, and if so, to come forward.
Without much thought, I went to the front of the room for prayer.
There was an older man in the prayer team, with two others standing on either side of him. They asked if they could place their hands on my shoulders. After I replied positively, the older fellow started to speak:
“The Lord has assigned you to speak into an issue that you do not relish, to tell those who are replacing God’s Word with their own thinking, to repent as they are substituting their thoughts in place of God’s Word. You are correcting their disobedience. Is this true?”
Now the old fellow was speaking into a microphone—all 300 students were listening. The fellow “nailed it” and I became aware that this was not merely some doting grandfather having a chat before offering a gentle prayer. No! God was speaking through him—and he didn’t even know my name, let alone where I was from or what I had been doing.
I replied—“Yes. It is.” The class was in awe. So was I. This was astonishing, to say the least.
Then the old man spoke again.
“But you don’t like this! In fact, you are fighting the Lord, each time he sends someone to help you. You complain about how tough the assignment is, and how much you despise the assignment.”
Some 15 or so from that class had been on the receiving end of my saying exactly that very thing back in the residence over the last two weeks of the course. I am sure that my eyes had grown large as this gentle elderly man spoke quietly and firmly. This set up for the whole class to learn what 1 Corinthians says about this gift:
But if all prophesy… he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you. 1 Corinthians 14: 24a,c,25 NASB
Then the older fellow finished out by saying this:
“If you do not stop fighting the Lord on this matter, He will raise up someone else, and the Lord will lay you aside from the role that He has called you to accomplish. God would have you repent of resisting the Lord.”
The secrets of my heart were disclosed—and I knew that God was among those leaders. It was now plain. It didn’t take more than a few seconds to process what was being said. I repented, asking God to forgive me, right in front of that class of peers—and the whining stopped, followed by a holy resolve to complete that task, as God had assigned it.
No one in the room denied that the incident was “from the Lord.” And I got the research done, with distinction and on time.
There is nothing hidden from the eyes of God, nothing. God knows every thought, word and deed—and even though it defies human comprehension, God is recording them to be revealed at the end of time. If it is needed for his work to get done, God will let others know, and have them call us to turn away from the behaviours that destroy. His love commands us to grow—and He will use those gifts to get it done.
© David Chotka 2021.
