Proverbs 14:22-15:23
Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD;
how much more the hearts of the children of man!Proverbs 15:11
In case you are wondering, “Sheol” is the place of the dead. It is neither Heaven nor Hell and does not properly imply an afterlife. We might just as well replace “Sheol” with “the Grave” (capital “G”) and arrive at much the same meaning. “Abaddon” literally means “doom” or “destruction” and goes hand in hand with Sheol as the place of the dead, but with more of a hint of torment along the lines of Hell. One might replace “Abaddon” with “the Abyss” (capital “A”).
Reading Proverbs 15:11, my very first inclination is to cringe. Like Adam and Eve after the Fall, I want to hide myself from the LORD. (Gen. 3:8) But all such hiding is futile. The LORD sees everything. There are no secrets from Him. We are indeed laid bare before Him. So our best course of action is to simply stop wasting our energy in our silly attempts to hide from Him. Take off the masks and confess (that is, “say with” Him) whatever it is we want to hide. It is in that confession that we find freedom.
So cringing at Proverbs 15:11 is a poor response. Instead, I should embrace it and rejoice in the fact that the LORD knows me better than I know myself. Rather than trying to hide, I should invite Him to reveal to me what He already knows, to show me those sins of which I am not even aware, to let me see my brokenness that He has already solved on the Cross.
Yes, the LORD sees me — all of me. And He loves me anyway.
See also: