“My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long, for those who wanted to harm me have been put to shame and confusion.” (Psalm 71:24 NIV)
When people want to harm you, they will be shamed and confused. My mother had a saying, “The truth always comes out.” She was right, it does. When the truth comes out, those who were trying to harm you with their lies will be shamed and confused.
When we’re in conflict with someone, we don’t always think rationally. The truth can be hard to find amidst a sea of lies, but it is there. Jesus came to reveal the truth:
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:37 NIV)
To find the truth, seek Jesus.
I didn’t get married until I was 42 years old. In my late 20’s I had thought I’d met the man of my dreams, but instead he shattered my heart. I spent most of my 30’s recovering from that heartbreak. When I met my husband and we started dating, Jesus used him to illuminate the hurt I was projecting onto others. Because I had been hurt so deeply, I viewed life from within that hurt. Jesus had to help me see the truth of the situation. He used my husband’s tender love to help. I can remember the first time my husband said to me, in the midst of an argument, “Don’t project what someone else did to you onto me.” No one had ever loved me enough to say that to me before. My husband did. And as a result, I began to see truths in my life I had never seen. I began to heal as the truth was revealed to me.
When people try to harm us with lies, they will be shamed and confused. The truth always comes out. One truth that is hard to accept, we have all harmed people. All of us except Jesus. Jesus never hurt anyone, He loved everyone. When we seek Him, He’ll lead us in the way of truth. He’ll reveal to us the areas of our lives where we are hurting. He’ll lovingly show us how we’re hurting others because of the hurt we’ve felt. He’ll lead us on the path of truth, which helps us to heal. He’ll turn the shame and confusion of hurt into His loving grace and mercy. When we project our hurts onto Jesus, He doesn’t retaliate. He absorbs them, then with love, shows us the truth.
Question of the Day:
What truth is Jesus trying to reveal to you?
Further Reading: Deuteronomy 13:1-15:23 NIV, Luke 8:40-9:6 NIV, Psalm 71:1-24 NIV, Proverbs 12:5-7 NIV
