I didn’t mean to say it. Even as the words left my lips, I was surprised by myself. I had an unguarded moment. A moment I couldn’t help but express what I was feeling and thinking. Have you ever done that?

It is rare for me because I remain very much in control of myself. I not only think before I speak and act, but I also filter and consider every word or action and its consequences. I know this is the wise approach. After all it says in James one verses 19 and 20 “let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” So, I know I’m not wrong in my normal approach to things. Cautious evaluation before speaking or acting. That is wise behavior.

However, my unguarded moment caused me to pause and consider something. Is it OK to sometimes be open and unguarded? Is it right to be authentic, honest, and real in my interactions with others? I would argue that yes sometimes it is OK especially when there is a very important key factor involved. When it is someone, I can trust or someone I feel safe with. That was what prompted my unguarded moment. I felt safe and held like I could be real there and it would be OK. So, I let down my guard and my defenses. I was surprised but, in a way, I was also relieved because I had been holding back what I was feeling. In that moment though, that moment of letting go, of seizing the day, I found a bit of relief. Now I sit here asking myself the question am I on guard when it comes to God? Do I hold back from him?

Even deeper do I really trust in God? The kind of trust that Proverbs speak speaks of, trusting him with all my heart and not leaning to my own understanding but acknowledging him in all my ways. Am I filled with all joy and believing as it says in Romans 15:13?  Do I feel safe and confident knowing that God’s plans for me are for my welfare and not for evil and that he plans to give me hope and a future? (Jer. 29:11) Do I rest fully in God unguarded because I know as it says in Psalms 91 that “he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” Do I say to the Lord you are my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust and under your wings will I find refuge? Do I believe that his faithfulness is my shield and my buckler?” Those thoughts race through my mind this morning. Do I truly believe I’m safe, completely safe with God, safe enough to be real in his presence?

God is a safe place and a refuge for believers. We don’t have to stand on guard or defensively against God. He has defenses that protect us, so we don’t have to protect ourselves against him. We actually get to rest in him. We can say what we think and feel. We can be authentic and our true vulnerable very human selves. We can lay down our defenses, drop our guards, throw off our burdens and cares, and rest truly rest in God and in God alone.  

In this world where we have to be wise and deliberate with every word or action, God has given us a refuge and a safe place in himself.  We can approach him with trust just as we are. What an awesome thought! What an amazing blessing!

I challenge you today to be real with the Lord, after all he knows all of you already. You don’t have to work so hard to try to be acceptable to him, you don’t have to try at all. He just asks that you come as you are. He wants to give you rest today, to be a place where you can be entirely unafraid to be yourself and to express your thoughts and feelings.

I pray today you can rest unguarded within the arms of Christ and that you can feel secure in the shadow of the Almighty.   That you will feel and know that he holds you and covers you under his wings. Surprise yourself today like I was surprised. Choose authentic trust, choose surrender, and find relief and refuge in God!