Sometimes the truth hurts.
We hear it and it pierces us deep down in places we feel very uncomfortable with. We feel accused, we feel exposed and sometimes we try to cover up or look for a defence. But a thousand oceans cannot swallow up the truth that exists! Remember Cain who killed his brother Abel? When God asked him a simple question, “Where is your brother?” he got all defensive and asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” This was because behind God’s question lay the truth Cain was trying to hide.
We can choose to argue with the truth, we can choose to deny the truth but we cannot change the truth that exists and is confronting us.
When David was faced with the truth of his adulterous and murderous behaviour concerning his affair with Bathsheba, he chose to be repentant and cast himself upon the mercy of God. After all, from his own lips he had declared that the man who had forcibly taken what belonged to another deserved to die, and so when the prophet Nathan unveiled the truth that that criminal was actually David himself, David accepted the truth of his evil actions and sought God’s pardon.
David as King could have thrown his weight about and denied it all, but he chose to admit his sin and ask for forgiveness. No wonder this man is referred to by God as a man after His own heart. David knew well his faults and yet he never let himself be overcome by his failures. He would repent and ask for mercy again and again and strive to be the man God desired him to be.
Yes, the truth can hurt but if we face the truth we can and will be set free. All of us need Nathans in our lives; people who will be bold, wise and tactful enough to confront us when we have taken the wrong path. And beyond that, we also need to have the humility of David to accept and face up to the truth of our actions or inactions and the resultant devastation we may have caused to ourselves and others.
Today, I was confronted with a truth by my husband. He said, “You have gone off your blog.” It was a nice way of saying, “You have not kept faith with your blog”. At first I got defensive; I had a thousand excuses in my mind as to why I haven’t been able to keep up but with a simple question from my husband, I was confronted with the truth of my inactivity: I had reneged on my commitment to this blog.
So here I am, repentant, and on the roll again!
I am thankful he was blunt with me. I can assure you I am not always thankful when confronted with the truth but I am learning! Without humility we cannot be open to God’s discipline or the correction of those who love us.
Another truth that hit home for me recently was with my commitment to leading a healthier lifestyle this year. It’s been a great journey so far. I’ve seen some kilos roll off and slipped into smaller sized clothes and felt great. So a couple of months ago, I was bent on losing an additional 3kg and I was psyched up for it mentally. Fast forward a few weeks later and I began to cut myself some slack. A little here, a little there; one day of no exercise turned into a whole week of inactivity. One small allowance for my sweet tooth gave way to another. Then came the day of reckoning: I stood on the scale and hated what it told me! “How can you lie!?” I fumed! I was convinced the settings were wrong, especially as it initially gave me a favourable reading, which meant I had lost 3kg and then turned around to put me 1kg behind.
Scale and I were not friends that weekend! I looked at it with suspicion each time I passed by! Finally I stopped being silly and reflected on my habits in the last two weeks of the month and realized that I had it coming to me after all. I had not been diligent in maintaining the discipline required to get me to my target. I had allowed an extra this or that to escape down my throat and now here I was paying the price!
So instead of hiding from the truth, I am facing it and forging ahead!
The truth set me free to reflect, pick my lessons and move on. Facing the truth has made me re-strategize on the way forward and I know that as long as I keep the discipline and I am honest about where I am and what I need to do to progress, I will see positive results in the days ahead.
Face the truth today and let the truth set you free! The Bible says; “And you shall know the truth and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). When we don’t have the truth, we will live our lives on a lie and that’s like living in a house made of straw. It will soon come apart!
Jesus invites us all to receive the truth of His Word, to receive the truth of the Gospel and understand that God loves you and I so much that He gave His only Son so we could become His sons, too. I don’t know what truth you may be afraid to face or what lie you are hanging onto. But I do know and am a witness to the truth that God loves you unconditionally and is ready and waiting for you to surrender your life to Him.
Let His truth become your truth and let that truth set you free to live the abundant life He promises to His children!
Yours in Truth,
Ekua
