By Rae Lynn DeAngelis
If a man cannot get through to God it is because there is a secret thing he does not intend to give up. ~Oswald Chambers
When I first surrendered my life to Christ, I was on fire for God. I was at church every time the doors opened and was in no less than two Bible studies at any given time. I had a voracious hunger for learning and a hearty passion to serve.
After some time, however, I came to a place in my faith journey where I seemed to hit a plateau. It felt as though I had stopped growing. I wanted more from my relationship with God, but for some reason I couldn’t get there. I didn’t understand what had happened. It felt like God had distanced Himself from me.
The truth was that I had distanced myself from God—not the other way around. My eating disorder secret was creating a barrier between me and my Lord, and it became very clear—I needed to come clean. I couldn’t go deeper in my relationship with Him until I dealt with my sin-filled stronghold. God is holy—He cannot tolerate sin.
“‘Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’” (Exodus 3:5)
Deliberate sin becomes a wedge, keeping us from drawing as close to our Heavenly Father as He would like. Only through the precious blood of Jesus can we come before God unblemished. But in order to receive the forgiveness that Jesus offers, we must first acknowledge our sin and repent (turn away). When we have unrepentant sin, sin that we knowingly continue to commit without regard for God and others, it creates a barrier in our relationship with God.
“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’—and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” (Psalm 32:5)
Once I acknowledged to God and others that my eating disorder was in fact sin, my faith journey began to soar. I was able to experience deep, spiritual intimacy that satisfied the longing in my heart.
Are you struggling to grow closer to God? Perhaps prayerful inventory of your life will reveal some areas needing change or redirection. As He did with me, God will help you identify areas in your life that need attention and sanctification and will help you clear the path towards a closer walk with Him.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
