Volume 51: Everybody Has Some Secret Or Another

EVERYBODY HAS SOME SECRET OR ANOTHER

We often hear people say, “What’s done in the dark will come to the light.” Although those exact words are not found in Scripture, the principle is biblical.

Jesus said, “For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known” (Luke 12:2).

But the Bible does not treat every secret the same. Some secrets are sinful and must be exposed. Some are sacred and should be protected. Some are mysteries that God chooses to reveal. Others belong exclusively to God.

GOD CAN EXPOSE THE ENEMY’S AMBUSH

When the king of Syria secretly planned military attacks against Israel, God revealed those plans to the prophet Elisha. Elisha repeatedly warned the king of Israel and saved him from being ambushed.

The Syrian king became convinced that someone in his inner circle was betraying him. But one of his servants explained:

“Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber” (2 Kings 6:12).

The king’s bedchamber represented his most private and protected place. Yet walls cannot keep God out. Locked doors cannot block His vision. Whispered conversations are still heard in heaven.

God is fully capable of uncovering the enemy’s strategy and protecting His people. No conspiracy is hidden from God.

GOD REVEALS HIS COUNSEL

“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

The Hebrew word translated “secret” is sôd. It refers to confidential counsel, an intimate consultation, or a disclosed plan. In context, God was explaining that His coming judgment upon Israel would not arrive without prophetic warning.

Amos 3:7 reflects a pattern found throughout Scripture: God gives warning before destruction. Noah was warned before the Flood (Genesis 6:13–22). Abraham was told about the coming judgment of Sodom (Genesis 18:17–21). Pharaoh’s dreams revealed the approaching famine, and God gave Joseph the interpretation (Genesis 41:25–32). Nebuchadnezzar’s dream contained a mystery, but “the secret” was revealed to Daniel (Daniel 2:19).

God reveals what is necessary so that His people may prepare, repent, obey, or warn others.

THE SECRET OF THE LORD

“The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant” (Psalm 25:14).

This is the same Hebrew word, sôd. Here it describes the intimacy of God’s counsel and fellowship. Those who fear God are brought into a deeper understanding of His covenant, character, and ways.

God does not whisper His heart to make us appear superior. He draws us close so that we may know Him better.

SECRET SIN

“Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance” (Psalm 90:8).

Some sins are secret only to people. God already sees them. A hidden addiction, private conversation, dishonest transaction, forbidden relationship, corrupt motive, or concealed act may escape human discovery, but it remains completely visible to God.

Paul teaches the same truth when he speaks of the day “when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ” (Romans 2:16).

Scripture does not merely warn that secret actions will be exposed. It teaches that God will also judge the secret motives behind visible actions. People see what we do; God knows why we did it.

You may hide an action from people, but you cannot hide its motive from God. He will expose the distance between who we pretend to be and who we truly are.

WHAT DOES GOD SEE WHEN THE SCREEN IS LOCKED?

In biblical times, secrets were whispered in bedchambers, concealed inside tents, and discussed behind closed doors. Today, secrets may be hidden behind passwords, deleted messages, private accounts, browsing histories, financial transactions, and conversations we never expect anyone else to see.

Technology has given us new places to hide, but it has not given us anywhere to hide from God.

The real test of character is not merely who we are at church, during Bible study, or in front of people we respect. It is who we are when the screen is locked, the door is closed, and we believe nobody is watching.

“O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee” (Psalm 69:5).

SECRET DEVOTION

Not everything done secretly is sinful. Jesus taught His disciples to give, pray, and fast without performing for human applause:

“Thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:4).

There is a secret place where worship does not need an audience. There are prayers nobody hears, sacrifices nobody celebrates, tears nobody sees, and acts of generosity nobody applauds.

God sees them all. The same God who sees secret sin also sees secret faithfulness. Nothing done sincerely for Him is forgotten.

DIVINE MYSTERIES

In the New Testament, the word translated “mystery” often describes something that was once hidden but has now been revealed by God.

Jesus spoke of “the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 13:11). Paul described the gospel as a mystery once hidden but now revealed—particularly that Jews and Gentiles would become one body in Christ (Ephesians 3:3–6).

A biblical mystery is not necessarily something strange that can never be understood. It is truth that human wisdom could not discover until God chose to disclose it.

Revelation is not human intelligence reaching up to God. It is God graciously unveiling what humanity could not discover on its own.

THE SECRETS GOD KEEPS

“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29).

Some things God reveals. Some things He does not.

Faith does not require us to understand everything God knows. We are responsible for obeying what He has revealed—not speculating endlessly about what He has withheld.

Secret things belong to God. Revealed things create responsibility for us.