Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
2 21 2025
How did we get so good at burying things?
We all have regrets. “I wish I hadn’t done that,” or “Why did that have to happen to me?”
Some of us carry around a small bag of those dark days, while others lug around a whole baggage car
full of darkness, trying to bury it deep and forget it.
It even carries over into the mourning process after losing a loved one.
My mom died a week ago and after doing all the planning, officiating at the funeral,
and a hundred details, I found myself in a fog. I tried to just return to my profession
and just work myself out of this, but it wasn’t working. It was like I was paralyzed.
I began to realize dealing with our grief is much the same; we are so hurt, we just want to escape the pain, so we bury it, thinking we will deal with it later but never do.
No one ever told me that grieving and mourning are stages we need to go through
for our mental and spiritual health. Who teaches us about those things?
Men, in particular, are often known for avoiding the issues from their past.
But the truth is, these unresolved struggles and wounds become the filter
through which we see life. How do we step back, examine them, and deal with them
in a way that brings healing? How does the Bible guide us in this?
Closed-off areas of our hearts and minds hinder growth—not only in our relationships with God and others, but also in how we view ourselves. These hidden places can become prisons
that trap us in pain and regret.
In the Bible, the act of “burying” things often symbolizes letting go of negative experiences, making room for a fresh start. It is a concept tied to repentance and turning toward God.
However, this idea is often misused. Too many times, we bury things not to let go of them, but simply to forget about them, to push them out of our minds for later. The Bible calls us to do more
than just hide things away—it urges us to bring those hurts and failures to God,
to lay them at the foot of the cross, and ask Him to help us let go. This process might
involve repentance, an honest acknowledgment of our mistakes, and seeking forgiveness — whether it’s for past wrongs or for things we never had the courage to face.
Trusting God to heal the wounds is essential.
I had an interesting experience at a high school reunion last year. I met an old friend—someone who had once been both a friend and a rival. He reminded me of a fight we had over a discus during a track meet. To my surprise, he apologized to me—55 years later! I still vividly remember the fight. I had won, but I ended up with a black eye. Yet, he didn’t remember it the same way. He didn’t even recall that I had won. He carried that moment with him for over five decades… and truthfully, so did I.
What about you? What is buried deep in the corner of your heart? Is it an unforgiven hurt or a scar you’ve been carrying for years? Maybe it’s the death of someone close or the pain that someone inflicted on you, or a mistake you haven’t been able to forgive yourself for. Could it be time to remove it from the filter of your life? To clear away the cloud of hurt, anger, bitterness, or shame that you’ve buried for so long?
Psalm 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 103:2-4 reminds us to “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.” 1 Peter 2:24 assures us that Jesus “bore our sins in His body on the tree,” offering us redemption and healing.
We often hold ourselves to a higher standard than others. Many people—especially men—tend to carry their past mistakes, pain, and regrets as if they are permanently attached to them. We start to believe that these experiences define us and that we are beyond redemption. But that’s a lie. If we never go back and deal with those hidden hurts, they become ingrained in our identity. We can’t change what we don’t acknowledge.
This is exactly how many of us think. We too often, define ourselves by our pasts, our mistakes,
and our scars. But God says, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7, NASB).
And Jesus reminds us, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him,
and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him” (Matthew 12:35, NIV).
We can only offer others what we’ve worked through ourselves.
So, ask yourself: what does your inner closet look like? Does it contain buried pain that’s affecting how you see yourself and interact with others?
Living with these hidden burdens can feel like being overshadowed by a constant cloud, like Charlie Brown’s infamous cloud of doom. But if we want to overcome that cloud, we need to fight—calling on the power of God. Ephesians 3:14-20 says: “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.”
We need to allow God to use His Word like a chisel, breaking through the hardened barriers of our self-preservation and doubt. Prayer and fasting are tools that help us reconnect with the authenticity of God’s Word, to fully trust Him again. “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being!”
God wants to free you from the cloud of unbelief and shame. His grace is sufficient to heal you. Ephesians 3 continues, “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to grasp, with all the saints, the breadth, length, height, and depth of God’s love, which surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:17-19).
Moses once asked to see God’s glory (Exodus 33:18), but God told him, “You cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). While we may not have asked for the strength to overcome our hidden struggles, we have the potential for something greater than even Moses experienced.
Romans 8:9-11 says: “But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of Him. And if God lives and breathes in you (and He does), your body will be as alive as Christ’s!”
God has given us His Word to help us understand His nature, and that is key if we want to know Him.
Let’s finish with this powerful scripture: “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly, beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.” And look at 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13: “May God our Father Himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you! May the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you.”
How long will you carry this baggage of shadows—wrongly coloring your life, words, and actions? Isn’t it time to deal with your inner struggles and give them up to God? Trust in who He says you are.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV).
Still don’t believe?
How does your life story reflect the transformative work God is doing inside of you?
How is His love moving you to think and act differently right now?
Don’t let this moment pass you by. Reflect on those hidden closets, and give them up.
Let the Holy Spirit take control of those past seasons. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYR0xP1j4PYBethel Music
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