Leader's Notebook
The Truth That Sets Us Free
by Katie Harding on June 16, 2018
“What do I believe? How do I know this is truth?”
Those are the questions I received this week from a leader I am journeying with through her recovery. So much pain from childhood wreaks havoc on women’s lives well into their adult years. And there she was, standing at another crossroad of faith.
That same night as I read Jesus’ words in John 8, I was struck by this phrase in verse 45, “But I speak the truth and therefore you do not believe me.” When we see the word “therefore,” we have to ask “What is it therefore?” Looking back a few verses, we see that Jesus had just told his followers “If you dwell within my revelation I have brought, you indeed are my disciples; you shall know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” He then goes on to tell the Pharisees in verse 44 that they practice the life characteristic of the devil and there is no truth in the devil. He is not only a liar, but he is the father of lies.
As I have pondered all of this, I realize two things:
1. It’s easier to believe a lie than the truth. We have a much easier time believing we are failures than we do believing we are God’s delight. Our minds often want to focus on our mistakes, gravitate towards assumptions or compare how we don’t measure up to others. It’s easy to go there. It’s the enslavement of our human nature, and even though we have broken free, the enemy still wants us to live there in our minds. So, we often accept every lie he whispers to us and live in the shame he offers.
2. It takes work to live out our belief. Belief doesn’t come naturally. It takes work, intentionality and energy. In most passages in the New Testament, “believe” means to “cleave to, trust, rely on and have faith in.” We often focus on the “have faith in” part of belief and neglect the others, however, the rest of the definition is where we gain our strength and the power to persevere. When we cleave to, trust in and rely on the actual indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we live by his strength. We live by his power. We don’t focus on the words of Christ, but actually on Christ himself, who dwells within. And this takes work, because believing lies is a such a natural reflex of the life we've lived for so long.
The good news is that the more we take our thoughts captive instead of allowing them to take us captive, the easier it gets. When we retrain our minds to live in the constant awareness of the One who is ever present, it changes everything. Because it changes us.
Jesus tells us that when we dwell within this revelation, we will know the Truth (Jesus) and the Truth will set us free. He will give us the Holy Spirit who will teach us all things and remind us of everything Christ has told us; he will comfort, counsel, strengthen and intercede. He will also convict us of (not condemn us for) our sin and remind us of the righteousness we have received–the right-standing we now have with God.
And what will we experience? Freedom. Freedom to live in reflective thought, not reflexive action. It’s life-giving and life-changing. It confirms the Truth as we live it out through belief.
“What do I believe? How do I know this is truth?”
Those are the questions I received this week from a leader I am journeying with through her recovery. So much pain from childhood wreaks havoc on women’s lives well into their adult years. And there she was, standing at another crossroad of faith.
That same night as I read Jesus’ words in John 8, I was struck by this phrase in verse 45, “But I speak the truth and therefore you do not believe me.” When we see the word “therefore,” we have to ask “What is it therefore?” Looking back a few verses, we see that Jesus had just told his followers “If you dwell within my revelation I have brought, you indeed are my disciples; you shall know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” He then goes on to tell the Pharisees in verse 44 that they practice the life characteristic of the devil and there is no truth in the devil. He is not only a liar, but he is the father of lies.
As I have pondered all of this, I realize two things:
1. It’s easier to believe a lie than the truth. We have a much easier time believing we are failures than we do believing we are God’s delight. Our minds often want to focus on our mistakes, gravitate towards assumptions or compare how we don’t measure up to others. It’s easy to go there. It’s the enslavement of our human nature, and even though we have broken free, the enemy still wants us to live there in our minds. So, we often accept every lie he whispers to us and live in the shame he offers.
2. It takes work to live out our belief. Belief doesn’t come naturally. It takes work, intentionality and energy. In most passages in the New Testament, “believe” means to “cleave to, trust, rely on and have faith in.” We often focus on the “have faith in” part of belief and neglect the others, however, the rest of the definition is where we gain our strength and the power to persevere. When we cleave to, trust in and rely on the actual indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we live by his strength. We live by his power. We don’t focus on the words of Christ, but actually on Christ himself, who dwells within. And this takes work, because believing lies is a such a natural reflex of the life we've lived for so long.
The good news is that the more we take our thoughts captive instead of allowing them to take us captive, the easier it gets. When we retrain our minds to live in the constant awareness of the One who is ever present, it changes everything. Because it changes us.
Jesus tells us that when we dwell within this revelation, we will know the Truth (Jesus) and the Truth will set us free. He will give us the Holy Spirit who will teach us all things and remind us of everything Christ has told us; he will comfort, counsel, strengthen and intercede. He will also convict us of (not condemn us for) our sin and remind us of the righteousness we have received–the right-standing we now have with God.
And what will we experience? Freedom. Freedom to live in reflective thought, not reflexive action. It’s life-giving and life-changing. It confirms the Truth as we live it out through belief.