Truth Be Told
Blogging Truths
Hmmm….I’m not quite the prolific blog writer I wish I were or had intended to be. Maybe you’ve noticed.
However, I do write numerous, in-depth blog posts in my head, and they are GOOD. You’ll just have to trust me on that, I guess. I am gifted in creating fascinating and thought-provoking mini essays on a variety of topics during my morning showers, but by the time I finish my must-dos for the day, the words have somehow become vague, awkward, trite, or less meaningful.
But the intention is there… the ideas are there… the thoughts sometimes come together. I have the desire to transfer thought to structured, inspirational sentences; this desire is a part of my being. The goal to make writing a larger element of my day-to-day life persists, along with the idealistic optimism that the time when that can happen is just around the corner.
God’s plans. God’s timing. Different and important God-given tasks that need to be prioritized for now. But I will continue my writing endeavors in whatever way I can for now, and pray that God uses them now and always in ways that are helpful to others and benefit his kingdom overall.
In the meantime, I’ll try when I am able to translate my awesome shower-time blog posts into some semblance of organized and beneficial written words.
Looking For Truth
Lately, I’ve been circling around the topic of truth. I’ve been bothered, more every day it seems, by the different “truths” that are presented by all different sources.
I’ve been disappointed to discover that certain things I thought were true are not.
The concept of truth has arisen many times and in various ways. And so I have been wrestling with this topic, and intending to explore and “solve” this complexity in a blog post.
Ha. As if I had that power.
More recently, I have been looking at my own truth. The real truth. Not the image of truth that I sometimes feel pressured to present as I write and share in this somewhat public way.
Too often, I (Am I safe to say “we?”) try to make others believe the “truth” that I have it all together, that even though life is challenging at times, I am better than fine. I can take my problems to God, and 100% trust that he will work it out. Empowered with his grace, I can go on from there with burden-free days. No worry or disappointment is able to steal my happiness or drag me down to the depths.
And there is truth in there. Amazing, wonderful truth! Yes, God’s promises are sure; nothing is out of his control; everything WILL work out; his love overpowers any difficulty that arises. This is truth! Always!
Struggling With Truth
But, truth be told, I have been struggling lately. I feel like I can’t even find all the pieces, much less have them all together. The balls that I should be deftly juggling are crashing and rolling away. And it is So. Hard. to admit that. I want to be in control everything that has been put on my plate. Shouldn’t I be able to easily exude the peace that is mine as a child of God? I want to present the image of a person who has it all together. And I want to BE that person.
But sometimes, often, I’m just not.
Christian musician Matthew West (a favorite of mine) has a song that has been playing on the radio in recent months that has resonated with me. Titled “Truth Be Told,” its refrain says,
“Truth be told, the truth is rarely told.
I say I’m fine, yeah I’m fine oh I’m fine, hey I’m fine, but I’m not; I’m broken.
And when it’s out of control, I say it’s under control, but it’s not; And you know it.
I don’t know why it’s so hard to admit it, when being honest is the only way to fix it.
There’s no failure, no fall, there’s no sin you don’t already know.
So let the truth be told.”
Confessing the Truth
Make me walk in your truth and teach me, because you are the God who saves me. In you I hope all day long. Psalm 25:5
We put on a happy face to disguise our brokenness. We pull our shoulders back and lift up our chins and act like we can take on the world, when in reality we are spinning out of control. Maybe we can fool ourselves into thinking we have it all together. Maybe we can convince others that that is the truth. But the real truth does exist, and no amount of pretending can hide the truth from our God.
I realized I was trying to fake my way through a post about truth. No wonder I was struggling with it.
I need to lay bare some very true emotions – to God, not to a public audience. (I’ll keep those to my shower times. You’re welcome.) I need to face my own struggles, my attempts to disguise them, and my efforts to solve them with my own limited power, because it isn’t doing anyone any good.
But I share this with you, too, those few who are reading this. I want us to be able to be real with one another. To be OKAY with not being completely OKAY at times. That is a reality of living in a sin-corrupted world.
It doesn’t mean we don’t want to do what we can to get ourselves out of a dark place when that is where we find ourselves.
The problem is, we can’t get ourselves out of that darkness.
Recognizing the Beautiful Truth
But God can.
As one of my most venerable colleagues recently shared, if the words you say about yourself and the words God says about you are at odds with each other, who do you think you would be wise to listen to?
My mistruths tell me I’m not good enough. God tells me that, as his child, I am.
I buy into the devil’s lies when I think I am not worthy of love. God signed his “I love you” with the blood of his Son.
I lie when I say I am a failure. God’s grace is sufficient.
These ideas are summed up in a song called “You Say” by another favorite artist – Lauren Daigle – that I occasionally play on repeat:
You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
And you say I am held when I am falling short
And when I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me
In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity
The messed-up truths of this world compound and lead us to believe we are the only ones who struggle, which leads us to want to hide the real us behind a facade of control.
Embracing the Truth
The sum of your word is truth. Psalm 119:160
We can’t hide from God. He already knows. And the only way to healing is confessing and pleading for forgiveness for our lack of trust.
Our search for truth can only be satisfied in God’s Word. Pretty much everything else is manipulated or distorted, in our own minds or by the world around us, until the truth is unrecognizable.
Only in God’s Word can we be confident that we are getting the whole story in all truth and purity. Frequent, regular study of what God says to us strengthens us to battle the truth-distorters.
I may not be immediately able to snap out of the “funk” in which I find myself. But I am not left alone. I turn to my Savior who paid for my sins. I fall asleep in the comfortable position of prayer, trusting that tomorrow his faithful mercies will be sufficient for me to meet the tasks that he has prepared for me.
Treasuring the Truth
What a blessing to know the ever-present joy of living in the grace of God, even on the days the struggles threaten to overwhelm me. Not only is God my constant companion, he also provides people – friends – and other resources to support me in this walk of faith.
Truthfully, our personal struggles will persist as long as we live in this world. This world, however, is not the end goal. How much more wonderful does that make the promise of heaven? No more struggles, lies, pain, despair. Only comfort in the truth of God’s loving plan of eternity, fulfilled.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Revelation 21:4
