Jeremiah 23,24; Hebrews 4

²⁴ Who can hide in secret places
so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”
declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:24)

²⁹ “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? (Jeremiah 24:29)

¹² For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,^[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:12-16)

In both Jeremiah and Hebrews we are reminded that nothing is hidden from God. I don’t know about you, but that makes me squirm sometimes.  The word of God is alive and it goes deep. It exposes my sin. Nothing is hidden. If it wasn’t enough to know the outright sin in my life, I am reminded of Isaiah (64:6) who says that our righteous acts are filthy rags, or Paul, who counts all his works as loss (Phillipians 3:8). Even the good I do is often motivated by pride. And while sometimes I enjoy celebrating the accomplishments of my good works, I usually feel uncomfortable with this. It just doesn’t feel right.  I am reminded that I am to do these things in secret, and my reward is in heaven, not here on earth.

In Hebrews I am so glad to get to verse 14, after feeling convicted in verses 12-13. I have a great High Priest, Jesus, so I can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, and receive mercy. How comforting. The squirming subsides. God watched over the Jews that were exiled to Babylonia, and He  watches over me and cares for me, even in my periods of exile. He gives me a heart to know Him. And he saves me. He brings me back. My great High Priest.

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