Where the Truth Lies

Have you ever observed someone who is so totally convinced of something that they believe is truth, but you know it's not truth...it's a perception that's skewed...it's a lie...?

As a kid, there was a closet door in our house where a knot in the grain of the wood appeared to be a scary face looking at me. Unfortunately, for me, the door was within view when I was lying in bed. It scared me...as if there was something evil about the door. But why? The door had no power over me whatsoever...it was just a piece of wood. So why was I scared? I believed (as truth) something about the lines and shapes and design in the wood, and that belief caused me to behave in ways that brought about fear, anxiety, inability to sleep at times, sometimes crying, ....

How different would my response have been if I would have believed actual truth rather than perceived truth. I would have recognized that I'm looking at a piece of wood that I have total control over...and could cut out any part of it that didn't look quite right. Of course, I would have had to face my parents in that scenario, but that's another story....

I was reading in Jeremiah this morning, chapter 14. Jeremiah was a prophet who, devoted to God, presented messages from God to God's people, Israel. Judah was a tribe of Israel, and in chapter 14, God sends a message through Jeremiah to Judah. After many strong warnings, because Judah had been so wicked and arrogant and chose to leave God behind, God sent a message that He would "'give [Judah] only war, famine and disease.'" (v.12)

Judah's own prophets, however, had been telling them that, "'All is well--no war or famine will come. The Lord will surely send you peace.'" (v. 13)

Here's God's reply to Jeremiah in verse 14:
"Then the Lord said, 'These prophets are telling lies in my name. I did not send them or tell them to speak. I did not give them any messages. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen or heard. They speak foolishness made up in their own lying hearts.'"

After reading that this morning, it occurred to me just how important it is to have truth in our hearts. We can only speak truth out of truth. If I would have given instruction to someone when I was a kid about the closet door in our house or the impact it would have on someone to sleep in my room, my instruction would have been very skewed from the truth because of the lie I was believing in my heart.

We need to make sure that our "perceptions" of truth are really not lies but rather God's truth. It's why David, in Psalm 139, prayed,

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

David understood that his own perception of truth could be skewed and not really be truth at all, so he knew he needed God to continually search his heart for places where misperceptions have crept in. It was important for his own life, but extremely significant as a leader since his beliefs/perceptions of truth (or lies) impacted every person he was leading...and since his entire kingdom was dependent on what existed in his own heart.

How do you and I know that we are believing God's truth? We, first, must be willing to see where we're not...and pray as David did in Psalm 139. Then take a look, as David was willing to do, with God, at those anxious thoughts.

This may need a Part 2 eventually....