Hard to Open Up to God? Maybe These 3 Things Cause It

I used to be someone who found it very hard to open up to other people, because I felt that opening up exposed my weaknesses and flaws. Yet having a hard time opening up to other people also affected my relationship with God. I did not feel safe opening up to God, because I also did not want my weaknesses to be known by God. Even though I knew that God actually already knew everything about me. 

Yet little by little, my lack of openness toward God began to wear away as I followed the Lord. One morning, while reading the Bible, I felt pierced when I read Psalm 119:26, which says, “I have told You of the ways of my life, and You answered me; teach me Your statutes.” The psalmist felt close to God, so he was comfortable being open with Him. God, in turn, responded by teaching him His word even more.

This startled me. For so long I had liked to hide certain things from God, even though He knew. Without honesty and openness, how could God work in my life? 

Why Must We Be Open to God?

If we long for God to work in our lives, openness is one of the absolute requirements. We may have asked: “God already knows about me, so why do I have to be open?” This is true, but God wants to have a relationship with us. It is from that relationship that He can work in our lives.

It is written in John 15:5, “I am the vine and you are the branches. Whoever remains in Me and I in him will bear much fruit, because apart from Me you can do nothing.” This is God’s design for our lives: that we remain in Him, and that we bear fruit because of Him.

Also, does God not want us to call Him Father (Romans 8:15)? A father’s relationship with his child implies openness. How can we make God our Father if we are not open with Him?

If all this time we have found it hard to open up to God, could these 3 things be the cause?

3 Reasons We Are Not Open to God

1. Sin

When we break God’s law, our natural reaction is shame and fear. Then we hide from God. Like Adam and Eve, who were caught red-handed eating the fruit of knowledge, “When they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden, the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8). 

We already know how this story ended. Adam and Eve’s inability to be open eventually caused them to be driven out of the Garden of Eden. But have we ever reflected that this lack of openness will also hinder God’s plan in our lives? Especially if sin is involved in it.

To restore our relationship with God, we need to confess our sins, both to God and to one another (James 5:16). It says in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, so that He will forgive all our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Are we still open before God about our sins? Do we still ask for His help to overcome them?

2. A Lack of Trust

Back in junior high, I was once a victim of bullying. Some classmates deliberately made me the object of ridicule. Because I did not fight back, the bullying only got worse. My heart became bitter. In the end, I found it hard to trust other people, especially those whose attitude resembled those who used tobully me.

But without realizing it, this blurred the way I saw other people. I began to assume that everyone was bad. It became hard for me to open up to and trust other people. And this feeling also made it hard for me to open up to God.

Past trauma can be a trigger that keeps us from trusting God. Why? Because we tend to use our experiences with people to see God. If this issue is not dealt with, we can fail to see the God who is full of love.

So I decided to fight that distrust. In 1 John 4:18 it says, “In love there is no fear: perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and whoever fears is not yet perfected in love.” 

God is not like my friends, not like other people. He is a Person full of love. He cares for me, and He has a great plan for me.

If we truly believe in God’s love, there will no longer be any fear of opening up to God.

3. Excessive Ego

Contrary to popular opinion, ego is not something bad. Having a healthy measure of ego is also a sign of a healthy person: having convictions, being able to make decisions, and being able to be independent. 

What is wrong is when that ego becomes too large. A person can become selfish, rely too much on themselves, feel they do not need anyone else, no longer listen to the voice or advice of others, including the voice of God. Once it reaches this point, a person will tend to find it difficult to open up to God. 

It is written in James 4:6b, “God opposes the proud, but shows mercy to the humble.” Humility is one of the requirements for being open to and close to God. And with humility, it is also easier for us to receive God’s word.

Open to God = A Transformed Life

Being open to God is an important requirement for growth. There is no work of God without openness. God is also unable to teach His wisdom if we are still proud.

If you long to experience God’s work in your life, then it is very important for you to be open to Him. What kinds of things can we say or tell God? Anything. Whether it is problems, struggles, sin, fears, dreams, and your hopes. 

Openness is the beginning of change! 

By opening up to other people, we can become closer to them. By opening up to God, of course this can also make us closer to God. Do you long to be able to open up and have a deep relationship with Him? Join our community through the contact below. Our community is ready to help you. 

The Lord Jesus bless you.

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