You may have a secret life that no one knows about. Something you do or someone you become that’s hidden. It’s your little secret. You feel you must keep it hidden because others might judge you or shame you. But, my friend, God knows about that thing. He knows every secret you hide. He knows every shameful thing you keep in the dark. There’s absolutely nothing about you that God isn’t fully aware of.

Does anyone else ever have thoughts that run off into the worst of places that leave you secretly thinking, “What in the world is wrong with me? Why would I think something like that?” You would never speak those thoughts out loud because it makes you sound like a complete twisted psycho. God knows about those thoughts.

He knows the worst things you’ve done, the worst things you’ve thought, the worst things you’ve spoken, and the worst things you’re capable of if given the opportunity. He knows it, and let me tell you something, God still loves you. He isn’t turning away from you. He’s not cancelling his good plans for you. He’s not crossing your name out of the book of life.

No – in his love, he is working within you. Scripture tells us exactly how he works. Today, we’re going to dig deep into his word and understand how God sees our secrets and how he works in them for his purposes.

Remember yesterday we studied Roman 1:20 where we learned God made this world so incredibly beautiful to reveal himself to us so that we would have no excuse for not knowing him. That’s why you can never get a photo to quite capture the beauty of God’s creation. You have to be there to really appreciate it. God draws you in through his creation to know him. A photo can’t do that. It never will.

But it’s not enough to just know who God is – we are created to worship God. We’re created to not only be wowed by the creation, but bow to the Creator. When we fail to worship God, we fall for worshiping other things.

Because you and I were designed to worship, we WILL worship SOMETHING. Something will be our idol. We will look to something.

It’s not because we’re weak or broken, it’s because of our divine design to worship. If you don’t worship the God who made the stars, you will fall for worshiping the stars. If you don’t worship the God who made the Earth, you will fall for worshiping a Mother Earth. If you don’t bow to God, you’ll be bowing to a third eye, bowing to your inner self, or bowing to some sort of master.

Bowing is an act of showing your weakness to something of greater power. What have we become weak to? What holds power over us? What are we trapped by and addicted to? That has become an idol in our lives. We’re bowing to it.

When we don’t worship God, Romans 1:21 tells us “We begin to think up foolish ideas of what God is like and as a result our minds become dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, we instead become utter fools.”

Oh my gosh, isn’t that us today? We have dark and confused minds filled with crazy thoughts! Can you see how maybe that’s your loved one? They’re confused – a source of confusion comes from a failure to worship God, so they begin worshiping something else. Their phone. An influencer. AI. Their boyfriend. Alcohol.

Instead of worshiping the glorious ever-living God, verse 25 says, “We worship and serve the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise!”

When we bow to anything other than God, when any other power begins to control us, God responds in a very specific way, and it may shock you.

Does he strike us with lightening? No. Does he afflict you with a plague of insects and sores? No. Does he speak from Heaven with a loud, booming, condemning voice? No. Here’s what he does, verse 28, “God abandons them to their foolish thinking and lets them do things that should never be done.”

That’s right – God lets us do it. He lets us go astray. He lets us make a massive mess. He lets us make things worse. He lets us screw this up. He lets us face the consequences of our choices.

Why does he do that? Why does he let his girl just run down the wrong path doing the wrong things? Why does he let us hide in those dark corners of shame while we just keep doing the same harmful things?

Romans 2:4 tells us. Here’s why God didn’t strike you with lightening – here’s why he didn’t publicly reveal your secret shame – here’s why you’ve been getting away with it: “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?”

God is being patient with you. He is allowing your choices to have consequences. He’s allowing the mess you’ve created. He’s allowing your habits to pile up and create a life you really don’t like. He’s allowing it, not because that’s what he wants for you, but because he knows the consequences of your choices will bring you back to him. When you hit that rock bottom, you’ll realize HE IS YOUR ROCK. When you come to that dead end, you’ll realize he is the only way out.

His kindness and patience is not to allow you to get away with this. It’s to allow you to come to the end of yourself and then turn to him.

Just how bad will it have to get before you do that?

If you choose to wait until it gets worse, then it will get worse. BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO.

You know what’s crazy about humans? We literally invent new ways to sin. And guess what, God knew we would do that! Romans 1 lists some specific sins God was very upset about at the time of Paul’s letter to the Romans. You should read it for yourself. It’s God’s word, not my own. God knew what would hurt us. He knew the confusion the enemy would bring through these sins. He knew the dangers to our souls. And he knew we would just keep getting more twisted with new things. And we not only get twisted with these things, but we encourage others to do it too. (God’s words, not mine. Romans chapter 1.)

So here we sit with twisted lives that have gotten tangled up in crazy things, and God is being patient. He’s allowing the consequences of our choices to touch our lives so that we turn to him. Through it all, that’s all God has ever been trying to do – bring his prized creation back to him. Redeem us from our wreck. Save us from this destruction.

Keep reading in Romans chapter 2 and you will find what our Creator put within us to continually bring us back to him. Verse 15, “They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.” God has literally put a self-conviction within his children so we know deep down within us when something is right or something is wrong. That’s why so many of us are fighting an internal battle. We’re all torn up on the inside because we know our own secrets and it’s killing us.

This is a gift given to us by God. Our self-conviction is like a compass that points us back to God.

God knows your secret life. He knows your shame. He knows your crazy thoughts. He knows your temptations. And with all of this, God still loves you wildly and shows you MERCY. He still calls you to him so he can help you clean up that mess. He still draws you in so he can heal what has been broken.

He covers you in mercy, forgives every wrong, and changes the desires of your heart to lead you back to the life he created you for.

Where do you begin? Go back to where it went wrong. Where it went wrong was putting anything else in God’s place. You were made to worship – but what have you been worshiping? What have you been bowing to as stronger than you?

Listen for that holy conviction within you. God will tell you what needs to go. His spirit will prompt you. Just respond in obedience. Then, bow to God. He is the power you seek. He is Lord over your life. He alone is worthy of your worship.

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