The Truth

Over the last couple of days, we’ve talked about the lies we believe and how Satan orchestrates and tailors them to hit us in the most vulnerable places for the highest impact.  We’ve also talked about baggage and how it accumulates when we hold onto it and carry it around with us.

But how do we rid ourselves of these things?  How do we determine what are lies and what is truth? How do we put all the baggage down?  After all, it hurts…and our pain is real!  We often want someone to pay for the wounds we have experienced.  We want to live in the truth and in freedom, but it’s so hard to let some of these things go…especially if we’re not convinced that God really loves us as deeply as everyone tells us.

“The truth will set you free!”  Have you all heard that before?  It sounds good, that’s for sure, but I’m not convinced that it’s really accurate.  See, the truth is the truth…it’s pretty much black and white in most cases, but if we don’t know the truth or we don’t believe the truth, it really isn’t going to free us from much of anything.  I think the more accurate statement is, “The KNOWLEDGE of the truth will set you free.”  I don’t think we have a lot of hope for change or freedom, let alone success, if we get rid of the lies and baggage, but don’t replace them with something else.

John 8:32 says, “Then you will KNOW the truth and the truth will set you free.”

We have to KNOW the truth in order to be set free by it.  I said one of the lies that I believed was that I could never measure up or be good enough to deserve God’s love and grace…that I had failed so many times and had been such a disappointment, that He had probably given up on me. That’s the lie.  But the truth is the exact opposite.  I love this quote from Beth Moore:

“You are God’s chief creation, and you are here for His pleasure and glory.  God did not create us so that He could have the front-row seat at an ongoing saga of our follies and failures.  He created us because He delights in us!  He didn’t need us…He WANTED us!  The act was based on the pleasure of His will.  We were created to be His abundance – estimations of HIS value!  Of all the grandeur heaven could boast, God measures His riches by His children.  We are His wealth, the apple of His eye, created to be His treasure.”   

~Beth Moore, "A Woman's Heart, God's Dwelling Place"

Matthew 6:21 says, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

That means that not only are we the apple of God’s eye and His treasure, but we are at the forefront of God’s heart!!  You are at the core of the Almighty’s heart and He is watching over you daily.  Think about all the scripture that talks about God’s love for us, His desire to be in relationship with us, and what He wants for us that is always in our best interest…that we would have life and live it abundantly!  (John 10:10)  Throughout the entire Bible, we see all the vast evidence of God’s love for each of us – and it’s unending and unfailing. Every page pours out this undeniable truth…the love God has for us is matched by no other love that the world has ever seen or ever will see!

Sisters, He loves you SO much!  He has not given up on me…or you!  His word tells us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)  He sent His one and only Son to die so that we would have a way to be with Him for eternity (John 3:16).  If you will put your trust in Him, you will see a transformation in your life. His arms are outstretched! He is waiting to embrace you, longing to once and for all wipe away your tears, wanting to heal your wounds, and His heart’s desire is to set you free. If you are feeling isolated or abandoned and that you are totally on your own…if you are living from a place of shame and guilt…that is NOT from God.  Those are all lies that Satan wants you to believe because they keep you paralyzed and stuck.  The truth is that Jesus did not come to condemn you…He did not come to point the finger and make you feel worse about yourself than you already do.  Jesus came to save you. (John 3:17) He came so that you would have a full life beyond what you can even imagine! (John 10:10) He has plans for you.  He came to see you SET FREE!!!!!  He loves you so much and wants the absolute best for you. (Jeremiah 29:11) He wants to give you hope…a future…and He wants to wrap His big daddy arms around you, his princess, and make you feel secure, accepted, and loved.

So, my question is this…will you let Him?  Will you take some time this week to be in His presence and allow Him to love on you and speak truth to your heart? You don’t have to have the right words or go through some elaborate process. Just find a quiet place where you can sit and be still. Start by just telling Him that you need Him. Tell Him that you want to grow closer to Him and that you need His reassurance and that you want to hear His voice. If you feel awkward and don't know what to do...tell Him that. Then, sit back and just let Him speak words of love and truth into your heart. It might come in the form of one word that keeps coming to mind or a song…maybe it will be a verse in scripture…He talks to each of us differently. The first time I tried this, I couldn’t shut my own thoughts off and I felt very frustrated and like I couldn’t hear anything that was from Him. But as I continued to do it again and again, it became easier to dismiss my thoughts, and I started having certain scriptures come to mind. Later, when I would look them up, they were verses speaking about God’s love for His children, which at the time, was exactly what I needed to hear. Tomorrow we are going to start drawing some conclusions and coming full circle as we discover how to apply all of this to sharing without pretending.

As we wrap up today, would you consider sharing a couple of things?  What are some ways that you have felt God’s love for you in a real way? Do any of you have some stories or suggestions about how you spend quiet time with God? If so, would you be willing to share them with us? Sometimes, it’s less about wanting to spend time with God, and more about knowing how to go about it. What you share might be a huge encouragement to others that are struggling or give them an idea that might work well for them.

~Kris Samovitz