Transparency.

She's beautiful. Her hair is done, her makeup is perfect, she has on the cutest clothes, carries the newest handbag, and her shoes are on point. He is handsome. He has a great job, looks that could kill, confidence for miles, and the best car on the market. They walk into your church, your job, your local coffee shop. They look like they have it all together. They even act like they have it all together.

Little do you know that in the presence of Jesus, they are facing fear, guilt, and shame on every level. They feel damaged, broken, unworthy, unloved, unwanted, rejected, abused, and afraid. They are afraid to tell anyone close to them, just in case admitting it will actually make it worse.

I am currently facing a very difficult time in my life. I am angry, depressed, fearful, confused, and flat out exhausted. It has been a battle for me to not go home, eat (if I feel like it), and cry myself to sleep, never once letting Christ bear my burden. I have a belief that The Lord won't love me if I tell Him how I feel, much less let Him try and mend my broken heart. Not only am I experiencing those emotions towards other people and myself, but also towards God. That's right -- I said it. I am angry with God. God is confusing me.

That. Is. OKAY.

For too long, I believed that I couldn't be honest with God. I felt as if I had to be the perfect me. (God probably had a good, long chuckle about that.) It wasn't until I had literally everything stripped from me and I was flat on my face at the foot of the cross so full of emotion that I was able to be honest with God. I told Him how much I hated Him. I told Him that I believed that He didn't have good things for me. I told Him that I felt like He abandoned me.

Guess what? God can handle your raw emotion. He did it for me. He also did it for His Son.

Jesus wept. Jesus got angry. Jesus was confused. Jesus was hurting. He was the Son of God and He still wasn't exempt from emotions.

It is my heart's desire to create a culture in which people don't have to hide. Trust me, I know that it is scary. It's actually downright terrifying to bare your soul in front of strangers (or sometimes even friends). Beloved, there is freedom in transparency. When we constantly feel like we have to hide our "true selves" from others, we begin to do the same thing with The Lord. God wants us to be honest with Him. In fact, He already knows it any way!

What if we created an atmosphere in which people were not afraid to express their feelings? Their hurts? Their past? Their longings? Their disbelief? Isaiah 61 says that The Lord has come to bind up the brokenhearted, to set the captives free, to comfort those who mourn, and to restore places that were long-devastated.

Are we willing to admit that we are brokenhearted so that He can heal us?

Are we willing to admit that we're in bondage so that he can free us?

Are we willing to admit that we are mourning so that He can comfort us?

Are we willing to admit that we have some devastated places so that He can restore them?

John 8:32 says that Truth sets people free. I want to be free. I want you to be free. I must be honest with God and others so that I can receive the Truth.

This is where the hiding stops. This is where transparency begins.