“Yet because I tell the truth you do not believe me.” John 8:45 CSB
When it comes to truth or grace, I tend to fall on the truth side of things. It’s always easier telling the truth than a lie. You don’t have to worry about it, you don’t have to remember it. The facts are always the facts. But the truth is, people don’t like truth. Because they don’t like truth, they don’t like Jesus. The human mind fascinates me how easily it can be deceived. It happens to all of us. I have been persecuted more for telling the truth than anything else in my life. It always amazes me how people react when confronted with the truth. It’s not at all what one would think. But Jesus knows, Jesus knows exactly how people react to truth, by not believing.
It’s easier to not believe than it is to accept the truth.
It’s easier to not believe all sin is equal, than it is to believe that it is. It’s easier to point fingers at someone else’s sin than our own. But if you aren’t honest with yourself, you can’t be honest with others. If you can’t be honest with others, you’re not telling the truth. You’re being deceived. Any story of overcoming adversity typically starts with a line something like this: “I took a good, hard look at my life and realized something needed to change.” That’s being honest with yourself. That’s saying, what I have been doing so far hasn’t worked, it’s time to do something different.
That’s what I did when I was in my late 20’s, in a dead-end relationship, dead-end job, dead-end life. I took a good hard look at my life and determined this wasn’t working. I had tried things my way and it wasn’t successful. I needed a change. That change was Jesus. I decided to start believing the truth Jesus was trying to tell me. I decided to start applying it to my life. I dug into His word and started applying it to my life. I started to believe. I always knew the truth, I just didn’t believe the truth.
Here’s the beauty of Jesus. He doesn’t expect you to do it all at once, accept His truth. He just wants you to start with one truth, Him. Start by accepting the truth that you need Jesus in your life. Once you do, He’ll start unraveling the layers of unbelief we have. I heard our hearts once compared to an onion. Each layer is a different wall we have built up to protect it. Once we start to accept the truth of Jesus, He begins to peel back those layers, one at a time, revealing the truth. Some layers can hurt more than others to have the light shed on them. Others may be easier to accept. But all of it requires belief that Jesus can and will do it. He came to give us truth, to set us free with the truth (John 8:32 CSB). It won’t happen if we don’t believe.
Let’s start today with this prayer:
Lord, we are so grateful for your truth. Forgive us for the times we haven’t believed it. Help us overcome our unbelief. Help us accept and believe in Your truth. Reveal the layers of deception that we’re believing, bring light into the darkness. Open our eyes to the truth of You, help us to believe it (John 8:45 CSB). In Jesus name I pray. Amen
