Nancy Hughes: The mask

“O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when
I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.”

Psalm 139:1-2 (NIV)

As the beauty of fall begins, I’ve noticed more and more pumpkins resting and relaxing on doorsteps and in yard decorations. Some are huge and perfectly shaped while others appear to have serious growth issues and are relegated to a wicker basket in large numbers in the hope that being bunched together will make them appear as important as their bigger pals.

I remember the days when my children would go with their dad to the pumpkin patch to pick out just the right pumpkin to carve. 

They would bring it home in the back seat of the car on blankets as if it were royalty from a distant land. Then they would carefully lift the pumpkin from its throne to place it on an old wooden table in the back yard where the carving ceremony would take place.

First their dad would cut the top off the pumpkin, stem intact, so that each child could reach in and touch the “guts” of the pumpkin, as they called it. After the inner contents were cleaned out, everyone got a chance to help carve a huge smile with uneven square teeth and triangle-shaped eyes.

Then a chariot (aka old red wagon) was pulled up so the pumpkin could be escorted to the front porch. Once deposited there, a lit candle was placed on the inside so that anyone driving by could see the reflection of the carefully carved mouth and eyes.

I have noticed a change in that custom the past few years. More and more, the tradition of carving eyes and snaggletooth smiles has been replaced with permanent ink drawings. The pumpkins all seem to be wearing masks!

Now don’t get me wrong. . .they look very professional and from a distance appear to be the real thing. . .but a closer look reveals smooth, shiny perfectly straight lines and colored-in smiles that could only be accomplished with a black ink marker and a steady hand.

Confession time: I often wear a mask with perfect lines and a colored-in smile. I’ve tied on a mask as I walk into church after fighting the whole drive with 3 kids and a husband. “Yes, yes, we are always a happy perfect family” my mask dishonestly declares. I have also slipped on a mask when a friend asked me how I was doing. “Great, just great!” my mask lied to cover up a heart grieving over a loss.

I try that same tactic with my Heavenly Father but, as David says in today’s Scripture, God sees the real me, the one behind the mask. Nothing is hidden from Him nor should it be.

Allow your friends to come along side you as you approach God in honesty with anything and everything that is on your heart. And throw away the mask.

Father, I come to you today with no mask and my heart open to your Word and your leading. Help me to be honest with my friends so we can encourage each other as we lift concerns to you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

Have you ever put on a mask for friends or family or for God?

Why did you feel that you needed to put on that mask?

Apply

Make a list of two or three prayer warrior friends that you feel you can talk to without wearing a mask.

Ask them to hold you accountable when they approach you and ask how you are doing, so that you will be totally honest with them and with God.

Power

Psalm 139:1-2 (NIV) “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.”

Hebrews 4:13 (NIV) “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.”

I Samuel 16:7 (NIV) “. . . Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)