“All That You Are” Devotional

Sunday Morning Jetpack is a segment that highlights any kind of media that will provide you with some much needed good energy. You can find spirituality in the music, movies, podcasts, and other media you see every day. This article expands the Sunday Morning Jetpack video titled “All That You Are.”

In her song, “All That You Are,” Sinead Harnett expresses to her significant other that she wants to see and know “all that they are.” The lyrics of this song remind us of how God feels about us:

On the same side, but your pride won’t let me be

When you’re weak you never want me to know…

All because you’re just too scared to show

All that you are, I wanna see

Show me your scars, don’t hide from me…

‘Cause I wanna be beside you, beside you

All That You Are, Sinead Harnett

Like Sinead Harnett expresses, God desires for us to show him “all that we are.” He wants us to reveal rather than hide ourselves, because he wants to be close. But too often, our fear of intimacy, vulnerability, and transparency make us mask our real feelings to protect ourselves from hurt or rejection. 

God doesn’t want us to have to live this way, though. He can free us up to reveal and embrace what’s behind our masks so we can have the real relationships with him and others that we desperately want.

What do you use as a mask to cover up your fear of intimacy? 

Let’s break down the lyrics of this song with some scriptures to learn how to take off our masks and embrace intimacy in our relationships with God and others.

On the same side, but your pride won’t let me be, when you’re weak you never want me to know

[11] My friends at Corinth, our hearts are wide open to you and we speak freely, holding nothing back from you. [12] If there is a block in our relationship, it is not with us, for we carry you in our hearts with great love, yet you still withhold your affections from us. [13] So I speak to you as our children. Make room in your hearts for us as we have done for you.

2 Corinthians 6:11-13 TPT

When we are afraid of intimacy and vulnerability, it can be easy to put up blocks in our relationships in order to protect ourselves from getting hurt or rejected. But what this does is also block out the love and affection we really want and need. 

Though most of us can relate to being afraid of intimacy and rejection, the methods we use to protect ourselves can look different. Here are just a few examples.

Isolation Over Intimacy

Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.

Proverbs 18:1 ESV

In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

Psalm 10:4 NIV

When we are proud and self-reliant, we don’t seek to be close to God. We can think, “If I just stay isolated and don’t rely on anyone, then if and when I am rejected it won’t hurt as much.” We push away God and friends, preferring isolation over intimacy. But even though being self-reliant and isolated might feel good for a while, it doesn’t take away our desire to be loved and accepted for who we are. We need to make room for God by clearing out what we’ve filled our hearts with that crowd him out. 

Activity Over Intimacy

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. [39] Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. [40] But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” [41] But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! [42] There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38-42 NLT

Even though it’s important to work hard and get things done, we can’t let this replace our need for closeness. In this scripture, Martha was focused on getting everything done that needed to get done. She was stressed and frustrated with her sister for not helping her. But all of her activity distracted her from the conversation and relationship Jesus was trying to have with her. 

Sometimes we distract and busy ourselves with a lot of activity to avoid dealing with more difficult things in our hearts. But we can only distract ourselves for so long, and these distractions can’t meet our need to be known and loved.

Attention Over Intimacy

You’ve made your choice. Your ambition is to look good in front of other people, not God. But God sees through to your hearts. He values things differently from you. The goals you and your peers are reaching for God detests.

Luke 16:15 Voice

When our ambition is to look good in front of other people, we will try to get attention and approval, rather than closeness in relationships. We might be afraid of being ignored, rejected, or abandoned. Instead of expressing these fears, we can use relationships to feel good, saying whatever we think people want to hear to get them to like us. But this is an empty pursuit, because at the end of the day it’s never enough, and it never fulfills that real desire to be close to people.

Reflection questions

• Which intimacy block do you relate to the most (isolation, activity, attention)?
• What fears and insecurities are you covering up with these blocks?

All because you’re just too scared to show

All that you are, I wanna see

Everyone longs for love that never fails. It is better to be poor than to be a liar.

Proverbs 19:22 NIrV

No matter what blocks you use to cover up your fears of intimacy and vulnerability, all of us are ultimately searching for love that never fails. One way to look at this scripture is that it is better to be perceived as poor or weak than to lie and cover up who we really are. Even though it’s scary, we can’t feel completely loved until we are completely known.

You observe my wanderings and my sleeping, my waking and my dreaming, and You know everything I do in more detail than even I know. [4] You know what I’m going to say long before I say it. It is true, Eternal One, that You know everything and everyone. [6] It is the most amazing feeling to know how deeply You know me, inside and out; the realization of it is so great that I cannot comprehend it.

Psalm 139:3-4,6 VOICE

Luckily, God wants and loves to know us. We don’t have to be afraid of being hurt, rejected, or too much to handle because God already knows and loves us for who we are!

Reflection questions

• What parts of yourself do you not like being honest about? (guilt, insecurity, emotions, etc.)
• What do you feel about God deeply knowing you inside and out?

Show me your scars, don’t hide from me…

‘Cause I wanna be beside you, beside you

So we can say with great confidence: “I know the Lord is for me and I will never be afraid of what people may do to me!”

Hebrews 13:6 TPT

When we believe that God is for us and loves us for who we are, we can be confident in our relationship with others. Choosing to be vulnerable with God and understanding that his love is what we want will help us stay soft-hearted even in the midst of rejection from others. We don’t have to hide because God already protects us and wants to know who we are. 

Experiencing that intimacy with God will give us not only the courage, but the desire and freedom to be genuinely ourselves around other people.

Reflection questions

• Have a prayer where you are completely honest with God – don’t hold back! Pray through the scriptures in this study to help you understand that God loves you for who you are.
• What two or three friends can you share all that you are with?

For a real-life example of what taking off the mask and embracing intimacy looks like, watch our Sunday Morning Jetpack video, “All That You Are”: